The brilliance of Rick Spielman on Day One

[saint33]

I think one thing that is getting a little overlooked too is the trade down. We still have the same total number of picks we had coming in, but in essence we moved down from our 4th round pick into the 5th round in order to turn our 2nd rounder into a first. I really like out aggressive nature in the draft. We're not afraid to make moves and yet again we've been able to coax the browns to move up one spot for a guy they likely would get if they stayed pat.

7 first round picks in 3 years has to be a record

[mondry]

And that's the biggest reason I talk about not reaching based on your draft board. If you rate players a certain way, other teams likely have them rated some what similar. It's simply about not spending #8 or #9 overall on a QB when you can spend #32 on them. No way Barr is there at #32 so by masterfully playing the game this way, Spielman gets both.

[King James]

I'm so excited. Just when you doubt Spielman, he makes another sweet move. In my opinion that was a dumb move from the Browns to move up one spot for a guy they would have still gotten if they remained patience. Then again this is the Browns we're talking about. I love how Spielman has been doing in the draft lately. Who would've thought we would have gotten Teddy at 32 and we almost possibly had a shot at Manziel too.

I think Spielman learned after that Ponder pick how to be patient. So far it has been paying off.

[Slick Rick]

I think we'll see the Vikes move around again tonight. Maybe trade a 3rd for a couple of 4ths, or a 3rd and a 6th or something. That's how Rick rolls (no pun intended), he likes to optimize his chances of getting a combination of quality and quantity. Not sure what happened in 2010 and 2011, but to be fair those were two #### drafts, and Griffen/Rudy/Fusco have a chance to redeem both drafts. Thought Mistral Raymond might be a solid player for a minute too, but you can't win 'em all.

[Eli]

Ultimately, the moves up, down, sideways will be completely forgotten and the opinion on this draft, just like any other, will come down to how good are the players that the Vikings choose. Seven first round draft picks in three years? Great. Where are those seven players in another couple of years is going to be the real question.

[Mothman]

And that's the biggest reason I talk about not reaching based on your draft board. If you rate players a certain way, other teams likely have them rated some what similar. It's simply about not spending #8 or #9 overall on a QB when you can spend #32 on them. No way Barr is there at #32 so by masterfully playing the game this way, Spielman gets both.

... and if Seattle had decline to trade or traded their pick to someone else and Bridgewater had gone to Houston or another team? Not so masterful. Rick Spielman played a risky game last night and I give him a tremendous amount of credit for what he was able to pull off but it was risky.

[Mothman]

My question is why would have Bridgewater slipped in to the 2nd rd with the rest of the questionable left over QB's if he's so great?

Drew Brees did slipped to the second round too... draft position doesn't tell us if a QB will be great or not.

[Laserman]

My question is why would have Bridgewater slipped in to the 2nd rd with the rest of the questionable left over QB's if he's so great?

We have to thank the news media for blowing a poor Pro Day WAY out of proportion so Teddy would drop that far. One day is judged over an entire college career? And So many teams fell for it? Finally the media is nice to the VIKES

[Cliff]

... and if Seattle had decline to trade or traded their pick to someone else and Bridgewater had gone to Houston or another team? Not so masterful. Rick Spielman played a risky game last night and I give him a tremendous amount of credit for what he was able to pull off but it was risky.

I don’t see it as being that risky of a move. Moving up for Bridgewater was a luxury … but I feel it’s obvious they would have been ok taking one of the lower tier QBs if it came to that or plugging another defensive hole with the second round pick.

So either move up and get a player you think is worth it … or stay put and get a player you think is worth it there. In their minds Barr was the better value at 8 so they took him.

[Webbfann]

We have to thank the news media for blowing a poor Pro Day WAY out of proportion so Teddy would drop that far. One day is judged over an entire college career? And So many teams fell for it? Finally the media is nice to the VIKES

In fact, we have so much to thank the media and talky-tweety birds for! So much unsubtantiated speculative garbage (from "sources") that passes for "news".

[mmvikes]

Drew Brees did slipped to the second round too... draft position doesn't tell us if a QB will be great or not.

True. Dan Marino had 5 other QBs drafted ahead of him. Two, good, three not so good. One was even a DII I think

[Mothman]

I don’t see it as being that risky of a move. Moving up for Bridgewater was a luxury … but I feel it’s obvious they would have been ok taking one of the lower tier QBs if it came to that or plugging another defensive hole with the second round pick.

So either move up and get a player you think is worth it … or stay put and get a player you think is worth it there. In their minds Barr was the better value at 8 so they took him.

Obviously... but if your take is accurate, it sure seems like a half-hearted way for a team to pick their QB of the future.

[Texas Vike]

Obviously... but if your take is accurate, it sure seems like a half-hearted way for a team to pick their QB of the future.

I think instead of half-hearted, i would describe it as strategic; they maximized the value of their picks and correctly predicted that they could get a QB that they would be satisfied with late in the first.

There's always a bit of "revisionist history" that goes on after picks are made: meaning, teams talk up the player they chose, making it sound like he was THEIR guy and they are SO PLEASED to have gotten him where they did. I think they DO like Teddy a lot, but obviously they were willing to risk NOT getting him. They were OK with the prospect of having to sit at 40 and take another option.

I think another huge benefit of taking your QB at 32 instead of 8/9 is that there's a heck of a lot less pressure on him and the organization for him to quickly establish himself as THE GUY in order to justify the pick. There's less cognitive dissonance among the fan base.

[Webbfann]

I think they DO like Teddy a lot, but obviously they were willing to risk NOT getting him. They were OK with the prospect of having to sit at 40 and take another option.

I think another huge benefit of taking your QB at 32 instead of 8/9 is that there's a heck of a lot less pressure on him and the organization for him to quickly establish himself as THE GUY in order to justify the pick.

Exactly.

[Mothman]

I think instead of half-hearted, i would describe it as strategic; they maximized the value of their picks and correctly predicted that they could get a QB that they would be satisfied with late in the first.

There's always a bit of "revisionist history" that goes on after picks are made: meaning, teams talk up the player they chose, making it sound like he was THEIR guy and they are SO PLEASED to have gotten him where they did. I think they DO like Teddy a lot, but obviously they were willing to risk NOT getting him. They were OK with the prospect of having to sit at 40 and take another option.

Exactly. I think that's a kinder way to say the same thing.

In other words, I'm not really being critical of the team here so much as questioning their conviction regarding these QBs.

I think another huge benefit of taking your QB at 32 instead of 8/9 is that there's a heck of a lot less pressure on him and the organization for him to quickly establish himself as THE GUY in order to justify the pick. There's less cognitive dissonance among the fan base.

The latter is clearly true but in the end, they're still going to end up with a LOT riding on their choice of QB here which is why I find the approach so intriguing.