What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

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What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by PurpleKoolaid »

What do you guys think would be the grade of this draft for us? Ive seen quite a few of the experts give us everything from a B- to an A.

I personally think those are way to hi, Rick once again had some magic number in his head he wanted more then maybe the quantity in the rounds 3-7. I looked up a few of the UDFA and not impressed at all, nor with the needs we could have gotten later on by trading a 6th and a lot of the 7ths. Even the 4ths, but if Rick got 4ths, im afraid he woul have just traded then away again for more later picks.

I like the first 2 picks. Had I known Rick was going to, imo, waste some good picks to get a larger number of picks, I really wish he had gone after Lamp. I wanted Lamp and Cook, or Elf. and Cook. Very happy with these 2 and am certain they will surprised those who dont know alot about them.

I give Rick a solid C+. Better then I usually give him.
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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by ocampo82 »

B



I believe the consensus on the first two picks are they were good ones. The many mocks, from several sites, I completed leading up to the draft Cooks never fell to 41 so we were 'lucky' for that one. I really think Philly would have been in on Cook if we didnt trade up

Rick did well trading up for Elf...I dont think Feeney or Elf would have lasted if we stayed put

I like the Jaleel Johnson pick...then it seems a bunch of curious moves. I wouldn't be too critical if Rick traded for 2018 picks, but continuously trading down when there was talent at positions we need--OT, G. Siragusa, Asiata, Rod. Johnson, Davenport.
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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by Pondering Her Percy »

PurpleKoolaid wrote:What do you guys think would be the grade of this draft for us? Ive seen quite a few of the experts give us everything from a B- to an A.

I personally think those are way to hi, Rick once again had some magic number in his head he wanted more then maybe the quantity in the rounds 3-7. I looked up a few of the UDFA and not impressed at all, nor with the needs we could have gotten later on by trading a 6th and a lot of the 7ths. Even the 4ths, but if Rick got 4ths, im afraid he woul have just traded then away again for more later picks.

I like the first 2 picks. Had I known Rick was going to, imo, waste some good picks to get a larger number of picks, I really wish he had gone after Lamp. I wanted Lamp and Cook, or Elf. and Cook. Very happy with these 2 and am certain they will surprised those who dont know alot about them.

I give Rick a solid C+. Better then I usually give him.
Not sure how you expect to get both Lamp and Cook. They were both projected first rounders and all we had was one second

I'd give it a B+
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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by Mothman »

I'd give it a C but it's obviously way too early to grade it with any real accuracy.
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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by PurpleMustReign »

I'll go C+. The OCD trading really upsets me. If there is nothing they like at their spot then it means they aren't doing an adequate scouting job, especially if it happens as often as Rick trade.

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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by mansquatch »

I view this draft in the short term as being all about Sam Bradford. If he continues to have success for us then the 1st round pick was well spent. Beyond that, it seems to revolve mainly around Cook's ability to contribute. He seems like he can make good on that if he can keep himself clean. I'm glad they grabbed Elfein, they needed talent upfront, but as a 3rd rounder it might be a season or two before we see him play.

Really beyond the 2nd round it is a crap shoot in the NFL. It is interesting to watch these guys in preseason and see how the coaches are able to develop them, but from a 2017 viewpoint I doubt we'll see any of them play meaningful snaps outside of the first two guys taken and special teams. If that ends up not being true (barring injury) that is fantastic news for the Vikings.
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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by YikesVikes »

I give it an A-.

I am super tough on Rick Speilman because I believe that he can be so much better than he is. He does a lot of things right but will turn around and make a mistake that hurts everything he has put in place.

Pros of this draft:
- Finding Cook in the 2nd and having the huevos to trade up and get him. I believe this was a brilliant move. He gave away the same pick that many teams in the last 2 years have given up to be able to move up 7 spots. Snatching Cook to start is a huge steal. Many of you may like Murray but you have yet to seem him play. He's a 3 yards and a cloud of dust guy. Adding Cook gives us an explosive counter that that size and I finally feel that this backfield is up to replacing AP.

- Taking JJ in the 4th. Smart move. Loved the pick. Floyd's in trouble and even if he wasn't we don't know if he would be the same disruptor he was prior to the injuries. Final year of his contract too. Johnson is 33 (i think). Having a disruptive 3 tech is so valuable. We have the rushers now we need to be able to keep the QB from stepping up into the pocket. This guy could be the guy to do it.

- Bucky in the 6th. From a pure talent standpoint, you can't go wrong. He has a bit of the dropsies but he is a converted QB so he knows coverages and he is big and fast. Something missing from our passing game is a goal line fade. When was the last time you saw us run one? I hope RS and company realizes that they can put this guy out there (6'7 with a 39 inch vert) and give him a look from time to time. At the very least, you force a team to open up the middle of the field for you.

BH--------------X-X-0-X-X-KR-----------AT-----------SD

This lineup would force a defense to either go nickel in the goal line (which can allow you to run the ball). Or move their LB our to cover Hodges (putting their other CB on AT) and allow you to run the ball. If they stay vanilla (cover 5) then you throw the fade to your big WR or look for an arrow route for AT. Lets not even talk about Cook coming out the backfield.

-E. Lee in the 7th. Love this guy. I'm a K- State fan so I am bias but this guy is the real deal. A bit light in the pants but with some work he can be a highflyer for us. Great value pick

- Aviante Collins - Great possible talent. Super athletic but can't seem to keep on the weight.

Cons of this draft:
-LB pick in the 4th. Too high for him. Not a pressing need. Still drafted a better player in the 7th.

-Trading back. He is where RS gets himself into trouble. He trades back and gets a couple of picks and makes a smart move. But it is like he gets addicted to it and continues to do it time and time again. The trade last year for the Phins pick this year was abysmal (we basically exchanged picks). He has to learn when enough is enough and start selecting talented players. We drafted 2 WRs when we should have selected one better one. The kid from UNC would have been my choice. *If our roster is a talented as we think it is (Sam Bradford season saving trade) then we should not have room on it for all of these 6th and 7th rounders year after year. Every year it seems we are replacing PS players with new ones and aren't really developing anyone. That's because we are drafting so many players and everyone is a new shiny toy to play with. Some years we need to use these 7ths and 6th and trade up to select extra 4th rounders.

- Not addressing OT. Not going to go too hard on the guy but OT is a problem. I know it was a weak draft but we still needed to address OT. Right now, we are a guy rolling into one of our tackles legs from having Clemmings back on the field as a starter. "That's it, Game Over Man, Game Over"
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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by Texas Vike »

YikesVikes wrote:I give it an A-.

I am super tough on Rick Speilman because I believe that he can be so much better than he is. He does a lot of things right but will turn around and make a mistake that hurts everything he has put in place.

Pros of this draft:
- Finding Cook in the 2nd and having the huevos to trade up and get him. I believe this was a brilliant move. He gave away the same pick that many teams in the last 2 years have given up to be able to move up 7 spots. Snatching Cook to start is a huge steal. Many of you may like Murray but you have yet to seem him play. He's a 3 yards and a cloud of dust guy. Adding Cook gives us an explosive counter that that size and I finally feel that this backfield is up to replacing AP.

- Taking JJ in the 4th. Smart move. Loved the pick. Floyd's in trouble and even if he wasn't we don't know if he would be the same disruptor he was prior to the injuries. Final year of his contract too. Johnson is 33 (i think). Having a disruptive 3 tech is so valuable. We have the rushers now we need to be able to keep the QB from stepping up into the pocket. This guy could be the guy to do it.

- Bucky in the 6th. From a pure talent standpoint, you can't go wrong. He has a bit of the dropsies but he is a converted QB so he knows coverages and he is big and fast. Something missing from our passing game is a goal line fade. When was the last time you saw us run one? I hope RS and company realizes that they can put this guy out there (6'7 with a 39 inch vert) and give him a look from time to time. At the very least, you force a team to open up the middle of the field for you.

BH--------------X-X-0-X-X-KR-----------AT-----------SD

This lineup would force a defense to either go nickel in the goal line (which can allow you to run the ball). Or move their LB our to cover Hodges (putting their other CB on AT) and allow you to run the ball. If they stay vanilla (cover 5) then you throw the fade to your big WR or look for an arrow route for AT. Lets not even talk about Cook coming out the backfield.

-E. Lee in the 7th. Love this guy. I'm a K- State fan so I am bias but this guy is the real deal. A bit light in the pants but with some work he can be a highflyer for us. Great value pick

- Aviante Collins - Great possible talent. Super athletic but can't seem to keep on the weight.

Cons of this draft:
-LB pick in the 4th. Too high for him. Not a pressing need. Still drafted a better player in the 7th.

-Trading back. He is where RS gets himself into trouble. He trades back and gets a couple of picks and makes a smart move. But it is like he gets addicted to it and continues to do it time and time again. The trade last year for the Phins pick this year was abysmal (we basically exchanged picks). He has to learn when enough is enough and start selecting talented players. We drafted 2 WRs when we should have selected one better one. The kid from UNC would have been my choice. *If our roster is a talented as we think it is (Sam Bradford season saving trade) then we should not have room on it for all of these 6th and 7th rounders year after year. Every year it seems we are replacing PS players with new ones and aren't really developing anyone. That's because we are drafting so many players and everyone is a new shiny toy to play with. Some years we need to use these 7ths and 6th and trade up to select extra 4th rounders.

- Not addressing OT. Not going to go too hard on the guy but OT is a problem. I know it was a weak draft but we still needed to address OT. Right now, we are a guy rolling into one of our tackles legs from having Clemmings back on the field as a starter. "That's it, Game Over Man, Game Over"
Very nice post, I agree with each point except for the conclusion (i.e. The grade) which I'd say is a B at best.
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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by Nunin »

I give the draft/offseason an A for effort and B for what they actuay did.
-
I like most of the picks and FAs....a few head scratchers in there as has been discussed.
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Mostly I'm concerned about what has happened to the offense since Zimmer got here and Spielman took over as GM and that's in spite of the black swan scenarion last season. You could even argue that Kalil's situation is a black swan in itself.
Musgrave did more with Ponder and Artis Hicks-types than anyone since. AD only got close to SB when Favre had one of his greatest seasons ever.
There seems to be a fundamental flaw in matching talent to scheme to coaching on that side of the ball. It's a friggin mess!
Compared to the flow of talent to scheme/coaching on defense, it's literally night and day.
-
I'm slightly irritated that they let CP walk when it looked like he was really about to find his niche (at least to me) in Shumur's offense.
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Outside of Kalil's rookie season they have been behind the eightball at left tackle since they cut McKinnie before camp. He started the superbowl that season in Baltimore.
The continual dismal play and laughable depth on O-line, (a decade old experience), was completely exacerbated by the wholeale mismatch of Turner's system, AD blinders, TB's deep ball and the aforementioned disability of the line to pass protect/run block for a reasonable length of time, was only an injury away (several in last seasons case) from total meltdown.
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I have good feels about the team as is. The Bradford trade was a huge win. The guy is a bona fide stud IMO. They have some good weapons for the scheme that seem to match up now. Can they protect him? Does Sparano know what he is doing?
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Bradford, Cook and Efelin(sp) is a good draft off the top IMO. Wish there was some solid depth at tackle and way fewer stiffs~
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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by PurpleMustReign »

If they don't have Bradford on their team after this season after giving up the picks they did for him, then I will personally look for Rick and punch him in the mouth. It is beyond asinine that they haven't even talked to his agent.

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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by Pondering Her Percy »

PurpleMustReign wrote:If they don't have Bradford on their team after this season after giving up the picks they did for him, then I will personally look for Rick and punch him in the mouth. It is beyond asinine that they haven't even talked to his agent.

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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by mansquatch »

The QB situation is a challenging one. What happens if they sign Bradford to a long term deal and then Teddy is ready to play by December? Then what? That would be bad at any position, but especially bad at QB which is the highest paid in the league. If they act prematurely they could end up with a ton of dead money against the cap that could prevent them from resigning key players like Rhodes, Barr, Hunter, or Kendricks.

The Vikings are in a tough spot with Bradford and Bridgewater. Being patient is probably the best strategy right now.
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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by autobon7 »

mansquatch wrote:The QB situation is a challenging one. What happens if they sign Bradford to a long term deal and then Teddy is ready to play by December? Then what? That would be bad at any position, but especially bad at QB which is the highest paid in the league. If they act prematurely they could end up with a ton of dead money against the cap that could prevent them from resigning key players like Rhodes, Barr, Hunter, or Kendricks.

The Vikings are in a tough spot with Bradford and Bridgewater. Being patient is probably the best strategy right now.
I don't always believe everything I read but it seems that there is far more pessimism in regards to TBs health and ultimately his chances of returning. Who knows. Shame that had to happen to a genuinely nice guy. My gut tells me we may never see TB play again. Hope my gut is wrong.
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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by YikesVikes »

autobon7 wrote: I don't always believe everything I read but it seems that there is far more pessimism in regards to TBs health and ultimately his chances of returning. Who knows. Shame that had to happen to a genuinely nice guy. My gut tells me we may never see TB play again. Hope my gut is wrong.
The Vikes only choice is to wait and not to play Teddy. Keep him on PUP and get his contract extended for another year with the rollover clause. You would then have him for 2 years (2018 rollover year and 2019 5th but really a *6th* year option). This way you can tag Sam if you want to at the end of 2017 or let him walk if Teddy is full strength.
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Re: What grade would you give this draft for the Vikings?

Post by mansquatch »

autobon7 wrote: I don't always believe everything I read but it seems that there is far more pessimism in regards to TBs health and ultimately his chances of returning. Who knows. Shame that had to happen to a genuinely nice guy. My gut tells me we may never see TB play again. Hope my gut is wrong.
FWIW, I agree. The longer we hear nothing, the more likely it FEELS LIKE it is going to be bad news. Still, I think the best move right now is to wait. If they are wrong and over commit it will have huge cap ramifications.
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