QB draft preference

[dead_poet]

FYI to those wanting Savage in R2...

So...when finished with charting, Tom Savage comes out as the worst projected QB in my aggregate score among all 11 players I've looked at

https://twitter.com/NU_Gap/status/45913 ... 16/photo/1

[John_Viveiros]

As I'm thinking about it now, I don't want any QB at #8 - at least, not any of this group. The pay is too high, the pressure to play them is too much, the risk of a wasted high pick is too much. Although no player is a sure thing, the risk many of the other players is a lot less - and for me, Spielman has shown that he can be trusted with first round picks. Can anyone show another team where their last five #1 picks are all current starters (which Floyd, Rhodes, and Patterson should all be this year)? There's usually a bust in there somewhere.

I guess I don't mind if we choose the best available QB with our 2nd or 3rd round pick. I wonder if we can work out a trade with the Texans early for that pick #33, for cheaper than it will be on draft day. That way we can spend the night picking out that one guy who we think has what it takes to be a QB in the NFL.

[Mothman]

As I'm thinking about it now, I don't want any QB at #8 - at least, not any of this group. The pay is too high, the pressure to play them is too much, the risk of a wasted high pick is too much. Although no player is a sure thing, the risk many of the other players is a lot less - and for me, Spielman has shown that he can be trusted with first round picks. Can anyone show another team where their last five #1 picks are all current starters (which Floyd, Rhodes, and Patterson should all be this year)? There's usually a bust in there somewhere.

I guess I don't mind if we choose the best available QB with our 2nd or 3rd round pick. I wonder if we can work out a trade with the Texans early for that pick #33, for cheaper than it will be on draft day. That way we can spend the night picking out that one guy who we think has what it takes to be a QB in the NFL.

"Spend the night..."? They've had months to evaluate these QBs. One more night shouldn't make any difference.

Look, if they can actually identify a player in this draft they really believe has what it takes to be a QB in the NFL, they should make sure they get him, even if it means spending a top 10 pick on him. Fear of missing on a pick, salary and pressure to play are all lousy excuses to pass on a QB if they think he has what it takes. All that's required to deal with the "pressure to play" issue is conviction and backbone. With the rookie cap in place, price isn't enough of an issue to preclude drafting a QB at #8 (total estimated contract value for that pick is $13,888,600) and if they're so afraid of missing that they can't trust their own evaluations and pull the trigger on a player they believe in, they're in the wrong business.

[Mothman]

Saw something on twitter that goes to show how much having that QB means if you didn't already know:

Spielman has drafted more Pro Bowlers than Ted Thompson.

I just read a brief article at the Star Tribune about that: http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 34041.html

“The Minnesota Vikings have selected 61 players since Rick Spielman took over their draft room in 2006. Eight of the 61 have earned Pro Bowl honors. The Green Bay Packers have drafted 87 players since Ted Thompson became their general manager in 2005. Seven of the 87 have become Pro Bowlers.”

First, a couple of caveats: Spielman didn’t run the 2006 draft with the Vikings; he was hired after the Fran Foley fiasco. Foley ran that draft. Also, Spielman did not have full control of the draft room until 2012, when he was promoted to general manager.

So if 2006 is no longer in play — the year Pro Bowl linebacker Chad Greenway was drafted — Spielman is really tied at seven with Thompson, albeit in two fewer seasons running the draft. And it can be debated just how many of the remaining Pro Bowl players should be credited to Spielman. To be sure, also, the Pro Bowl is hardly the perfect way to judge the success or failure of draft picks.

That said, there are interesting and instructive notions to come from that simple paragraph comparing the work of the two NFC North personnel bosses.

It's still interesting...

[S197]

Spielman also drafted two rookie of the year compared to Thompson's one.

[MrPurplenGold]

I'm a big science guy so I found this interesting

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10811695

ESPN sports science rated Blake Bortles as the number 1 QB in this year's draft and ranked him right above Andy Dalton and just below EJ Manuel. Take that for what it's worth. Interestingly enough sports science "claims" that they have never "incorrectly" projected a QB's success in the NFL. They actually had Colin Kapernick as the #1 QB the year he came out. With that, other than Bortles, I don't think I would want the Vikings to draft a QB at 8.

[VikingLord]

I'm a big science guy so I found this interesting

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=10811695

ESPN sports science rated Blake Bortles as the number 1 QB in this year's draft and ranked him right above Andy Dalton and just below EJ Manuel. Take that for what it's worth. Interestingly enough sports science "claims" that they have never "incorrectly" projected a QB's success in the NFL. They actually had Colin Kapernick as the #1 QB the year he came out. With that, other than Bortles, I don't think I would want the Vikings to draft a QB at 8.

Interesting, but I can't seem to find the sports science evals of anyone other than Bortles at QB. Did you see equivalent evals for any of the other QBs in this year's draft, and if so, can you provide a link(s)? I'd be interested to see where Bortles ranks compared to other QBs in this year's class versus other QB's in other classes.

[MrPurplenGold]

Interesting, but I can't seem to find the sports science evals of anyone other than Bortles at QB. Did you see equivalent evals for any of the other QBs in this year's draft, and if so, can you provide a link(s)? I'd be interested to see where Bortles ranks compared to other QBs in this year's class versus other QB's in other classes.

http://frontrow.espn.go.com/2014/04/icy ... prospects/

Not the individual analysis but a summary. They'll post videos on ESPN through the week

[VikingLord]

Thanks MrPurplenGold. I agree with you that these sports science evaluations are great to watch. While I'm still not sold on Bortles by a long shot, his performance is encouraging.

[Demi]

Sample size of two seasons. I'd trade up for Bortles!
Remind me to mortgage my house on the super bowl next year based on whatever team that orangutan/octopus/whatever animal picks.

[Purple bruise]

Mayock: Teddy Bridgewater not a first-round quarterback,"NFL Media analyst Mike Mayock was in Louisville to watch Bridgewater's pro day and came away saying that the workout drew a few red flags for him and that he would need to go back to the film room to re-evaluate the signal-caller. Appearing on "The Petros and Money Show" on Friday, Mayock seemed to join the chorus of folks who now think that Bridgewater doesn't make the grade as a first-rounder anymore."I went back and watched a bunch more tape and compared him to the rest of the guys in the draft," he said. "And like it or not, I've come to a conclusion -- if I was a GM in the NFL, I would not take him in the first round of the draft."


I could not agree more!! This guy will be Teddy BUSTwater.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap200000 ... uarterback

[John_Viveiros]

The weirdest thing I've ever seen in the history of mock drafts:

One mock had Bortles going first overall, the next had him undrafted after day one. I think the two were on CBS Sports and Bleacher Report. I know, take them with a grain of salt, but I don't ever remember seeing a guy as the top pick in one mock while going unchosen in Round 1 in another.

It's going to be a crazy couple days.

[Eli]

It's going to be a crazy couple days.

Yep. The wide-ranging mock drafts just point up the fact that there's no consensus about even one of the QBs in this draft. It should scare teams away from all of these guys, but it probably won't.

I think we'll see at least one mind-blowing pick in the first round. Something like Jimmy Garoppolo or Tom Savage being taken at #20. And, to tell the truth, it's just about the only reason to actually watch the most tedious show ever produced for primetime TV.

[jackal]

Love the draft ... It's Christmas for big kid
Vikings fans