Vikings Draft ranked 31 out of 32 Teams by the Athletic's Dane Brugler

Ouch...

I think it was a pretty average draft. Hard to do much when you don't have a second round pick, which is a hugely key piece in maneuvering up or having an "on paper" nice looking draft. If you don't count Hockenson as part of the draft, then yeah, on the surface it pales in comparison to a lot of team's draft tally's. Even counting Hockenson, it's still fair to wonder if we would have been better off keeping our pick and taking advantage of maybe the deepest TE group ever and having say, Michael Mayer or Kincaid on a rookie contract. Now we are going to be breaking the bank on Hockenson, after inexplicably giving Oliver a 21-million dollar contract, and still having to manage the cap to fit in JJ's soon to be record breaking contract. Oh and there is still the contract issue of Kirko on top of everything else. I don't know man, it just seems like whenever this front office does anything, it's questionable on if it was the right decision to make at the time. I would just like for once to be able to stand up and applaud the front office and say "great fucking move!" Two years in and I'm still waiting for it to happen...

Good for him. putting aside the fact that any ranking at this point is just for clicks do I dare ask how his mock draft compared with reality? Since he is such an expert I am assuming he got most of the picks correct.

Did this guy take into account what the teams had to work with coming in?  When you start with only 5 picks, no 2nd, and only 3 in the top 150, and come out with 6 picks, 4 in the top 150, and add a 5th next year, I'd say they used what they had pretty well.

Draft reviews are very subjective. Some 'experts' will downgrade a draft because they didn't have enough selections or didn't have a pick in the top 3 rounds. It all gets crazy. Check back in 3 years. This year's Vikings class might suck out loud, but impossible to know right now. 

@"mblack" said: Good for him. putting aside the fact that any ranking at this point is just for clicks do I dare ask how his mock draft compared with reality? Since he is such an expert I am assuming he got most of the picks correct.

Draft grades are idiotic. Even the ones that say we did well. Still, NFL.com gave us an A- and ranked us among the better teams  Sporting News gave us a B+, also a top half grade. All meaningless when you consider the bad draft grades we got for 2015 (Kendricks, Hunter, Diggs) and the good draft grades we got for 2016 (Treadwell, Alexander, Beavers).

Either way it's tough to impress anyone when you have so few picks. Last year we had 4 picks in the top 70, this year we had 1. 

@"TBro" said:

@"mblack" said: Good for him. putting aside the fact that any ranking at this point is just for clicks do I dare ask how his mock draft compared with reality? Since he is such an expert I am assuming he got most of the picks correct.

He nailed Addison with our pick at 23 but so did a lot of others as we got closer to the draft. 

New GM new staff new culture old roster. I will hold off a few more years before casting stones 

@"supafreak84" said: Ouch...

I think it was a pretty average draft. Hard to do much when you don't have a second round pick, which is a hugely key piece in maneuvering up or having an "on paper" nice looking draft. If you don't count Hockenson as part of the draft, then yeah, on the surface it pales in comparison to a lot of team's draft tally's. Even counting Hockenson, it's still fair to wonder if we would have been better off keeping our pick and taking advantage of maybe the deepest TE group ever and having say, Michael Mayer or Kincaid on a rookie contract. Now we are going to be breaking the bank on Hockenson, after inexplicably giving Oliver a 21-million dollar contract, and still having to manage the cap to fit in JJ's soon to be record breaking contract. Oh and there is still the contract issue of Kirko on top of everything else. I don't know man, it just seems like whenever this front office does anything, it's questionable on if it was the right decision to make at the time. I would just like for once to be able to stand up and applaud the front office and say "great fucking move!" Two years in and I'm still waiting for it to happen...

@"HappyViking" said:

@"supafreak84" said: Ouch...

I think it was a pretty average draft. Hard to do much when you don't have a second round pick, which is a hugely key piece in maneuvering up or having an "on paper" nice looking draft. If you don't count Hockenson as part of the draft, then yeah, on the surface it pales in comparison to a lot of team's draft tally's. Even counting Hockenson, it's still fair to wonder if we would have been better off keeping our pick and taking advantage of maybe the deepest TE group ever and having say, Michael Mayer or Kincaid on a rookie contract. Now we are going to be breaking the bank on Hockenson, after inexplicably giving Oliver a 21-million dollar contract, and still having to manage the cap to fit in JJ's soon to be record breaking contract. Oh and there is still the contract issue of Kirko on top of everything else. I don't know man, it just seems like whenever this front office does anything, it's questionable on if it was the right decision to make at the time. I would just like for once to be able to stand up and applaud the front office and say "great fucking move!" Two years in and I'm still waiting for it to happen...

Remember the Hock trade was because ISJ was hurt... again (another "great" Spielman pick, btw), and the Vikes wanted a replacement TE for their playoff run.  Hock not only replaced ISJ, but he might end up being the best TE in Viking's history.  I'd much rather have that than unproven drafted rookies with the #2 pick.

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"HappyViking" said:

@"supafreak84" said: Ouch...

I think it was a pretty average draft. Hard to do much when you don't have a second round pick, which is a hugely key piece in maneuvering up or having an "on paper" nice looking draft. If you don't count Hockenson as part of the draft, then yeah, on the surface it pales in comparison to a lot of team's draft tally's. Even counting Hockenson, it's still fair to wonder if we would have been better off keeping our pick and taking advantage of maybe the deepest TE group ever and having say, Michael Mayer or Kincaid on a rookie contract. Now we are going to be breaking the bank on Hockenson, after inexplicably giving Oliver a 21-million dollar contract, and still having to manage the cap to fit in JJ's soon to be record breaking contract. Oh and there is still the contract issue of Kirko on top of everything else. I don't know man, it just seems like whenever this front office does anything, it's questionable on if it was the right decision to make at the time. I would just like for once to be able to stand up and applaud the front office and say "great fucking move!" Two years in and I'm still waiting for it to happen...

Remember the Hock trade was because ISJ was hurt... again (another "great" Spielman pick, btw), and the Vikes wanted a replacement TE for their playoff run.  Hock not only replaced ISJ, but he might end up being the best TE in Viking's history.  I'd much rather have that than unproven drafted rookies with the #2 pick.

Disagree about ISJ. If he stays healthy in Pittsburgh, he's going to be a real weapon for them.

But I totally agree on TJH. Proven, 25 year old, 2X Pro Bowl TE and there are some questioning giving up a 2nd round pick for that? Madness. 

@"MaroonBells" said: Draft grades are idiotic. Even the ones that say we did well. Still, NFL.com gave us an A- and ranked us among the better teams  Sporting News gave us a B+, also a top half grade. All meaningless when you consider the bad draft grades we got for 2015 (Kendricks, Hunter, Diggs) and the good draft grades we got for 2016 (Treadwell, Alexander, Beavers).

Either way it's tough to impress anyone when you have so few picks. Last year we had 4 picks in the top 70, this year we had 1. 

that could certainly change (especially if they dont have to outright release Z and Cook) - but it will be a challenge again. 

@"AGRforever" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"HappyViking" said:

@"supafreak84" said: Ouch...

I think it was a pretty average draft. Hard to do much when you don't have a second round pick, which is a hugely key piece in maneuvering up or having an "on paper" nice looking draft. If you don't count Hockenson as part of the draft, then yeah, on the surface it pales in comparison to a lot of team's draft tally's. Even counting Hockenson, it's still fair to wonder if we would have been better off keeping our pick and taking advantage of maybe the deepest TE group ever and having say, Michael Mayer or Kincaid on a rookie contract. Now we are going to be breaking the bank on Hockenson, after inexplicably giving Oliver a 21-million dollar contract, and still having to manage the cap to fit in JJ's soon to be record breaking contract. Oh and there is still the contract issue of Kirko on top of everything else. I don't know man, it just seems like whenever this front office does anything, it's questionable on if it was the right decision to make at the time. I would just like for once to be able to stand up and applaud the front office and say "great fucking move!" Two years in and I'm still waiting for it to happen...

Remember the Hock trade was because ISJ was hurt... again (another "great" Spielman pick, btw), and the Vikes wanted a replacement TE for their playoff run.  Hock not only replaced ISJ, but he might end up being the best TE in Viking's history.  I'd much rather have that than unproven drafted rookies with the #2 pick.

Disagree about ISJ. If he stays healthy in Pittsburgh, he's going to be a real weapon for them.

But I totally agree on TJH. Proven, 25 year old, 2X Pro Bowl TE and there are some questioning giving up a 2nd round pick for that? Madness. 

stays healthy lololol 

I thought the writers guild was on strike and we weren’t going to have comedy shows for awhile. 

Reminder that post-Draft grades don't mean anything.

Patrick Mahomes getting C- in 2017 tells you all you need to know. pic.twitter.com/fZf89Vv50k

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 2, 2023

Draft rankings are a funny and ridiculous.  You love them when you team is rated highly and hate them otherwise.  Fact is, NFL teams spend millions and an incredible amount of time scouting players, especially in the first round.  You would think that there would be an incredible success rate for 1st round picks.  Then you look at the # of 1st rounders who did not have their 5th year option picked up this week -- or did not even make it to their 4th year with the team that drafted them, and you realize how much a crap shoot even the 1st round is.  https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-fifth-year-option-tracker-draft-picks/jyqwwzddcqnag2wmqf7up5yi   If the teams can't get it right, how do we expect a columnist's grade to be even close to correct? 

@"VikingOracle" said: Draft rankings are a funny and ridiculous.  You love them when you team is rated highly and hate them otherwise.  Fact is, NFL teams spend millions and an incredible amount of time scouting players, especially in the first round.  You would think that there would be an incredible success rate for 1st round picks.  Then you look at the # of 1st rounders who did not have their 5th year option picked up this week -- or did not even make it to their 4th year with the team that drafted them, and you realize how much a crap shoot even the 1st round is.  https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-fifth-year-option-tracker-draft-picks/jyqwwzddcqnag2wmqf7up5yi   If the teams can't get it right, how do we expect a columnist's grade to be even close to correct? 

@"VikingOracle" said: Draft rankings are a funny and ridiculous.  You love them when you team is rated highly and hate them otherwise.  Fact is, NFL teams spend millions and an incredible amount of time scouting players, especially in the first round.  You would think that there would be an incredible success rate for 1st round picks.  Then you look at the # of 1st rounders who did not have their 5th year option picked up this week -- or did not even make it to their 4th year with the team that drafted them, and you realize how much a crap shoot even the 1st round is.  https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/nfl-fifth-year-option-tracker-draft-picks/jyqwwzddcqnag2wmqf7up5yi   If the teams can't get it right, how do we expect a columnist's grade to be even close to correct? 

You would think they would be better at it. 

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"HappyViking" said:

@"supafreak84" said: Ouch...

I think it was a pretty average draft. Hard to do much when you don't have a second round pick, which is a hugely key piece in maneuvering up or having an "on paper" nice looking draft. If you don't count Hockenson as part of the draft, then yeah, on the surface it pales in comparison to a lot of team's draft tally's. Even counting Hockenson, it's still fair to wonder if we would have been better off keeping our pick and taking advantage of maybe the deepest TE group ever and having say, Michael Mayer or Kincaid on a rookie contract. Now we are going to be breaking the bank on Hockenson, after inexplicably giving Oliver a 21-million dollar contract, and still having to manage the cap to fit in JJ's soon to be record breaking contract. Oh and there is still the contract issue of Kirko on top of everything else. I don't know man, it just seems like whenever this front office does anything, it's questionable on if it was the right decision to make at the time. I would just like for once to be able to stand up and applaud the front office and say "great fucking move!" Two years in and I'm still waiting for it to happen...

Remember the Hock trade was because ISJ was hurt... again (another "great" Spielman pick, btw), and the Vikes wanted a replacement TE for their playoff run.  Hock not only replaced ISJ, but he might end up being the best TE in Viking's history.  I'd much rather have that than unproven drafted rookies with the #2 pick.

Disagree about ISJ. If he stays healthy in Pittsburgh, he's going to be a real weapon for them.

But I totally agree on TJH. Proven, 25 year old, 2X Pro Bowl TE and there are some questioning giving up a 2nd round pick for that? Madness. 

Subjective, speculative, and meaningless.

@"supafreak84" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"HappyViking" said:

@"supafreak84" said: Ouch...

I think it was a pretty average draft. Hard to do much when you don't have a second round pick, which is a hugely key piece in maneuvering up or having an "on paper" nice looking draft. If you don't count Hockenson as part of the draft, then yeah, on the surface it pales in comparison to a lot of team's draft tally's. Even counting Hockenson, it's still fair to wonder if we would have been better off keeping our pick and taking advantage of maybe the deepest TE group ever and having say, Michael Mayer or Kincaid on a rookie contract. Now we are going to be breaking the bank on Hockenson, after inexplicably giving Oliver a 21-million dollar contract, and still having to manage the cap to fit in JJ's soon to be record breaking contract. Oh and there is still the contract issue of Kirko on top of everything else. I don't know man, it just seems like whenever this front office does anything, it's questionable on if it was the right decision to make at the time. I would just like for once to be able to stand up and applaud the front office and say "great fucking move!" Two years in and I'm still waiting for it to happen...

Remember the Hock trade was because ISJ was hurt... again (another "great" Spielman pick, btw), and the Vikes wanted a replacement TE for their playoff run.  Hock not only replaced ISJ, but he might end up being the best TE in Viking's history.  I'd much rather have that than unproven drafted rookies with the #2 pick.

Disagree about ISJ. If he stays healthy in Pittsburgh, he's going to be a real weapon for them.

But I totally agree on TJH. Proven, 25 year old, 2X Pro Bowl TE and there are some questioning giving up a 2nd round pick for that? Madness. 

It's not so much about the player as it is the position he plays and money allocation after forking over $21 million to Oliver in free agency. How much money do we want tied up at the TE position with JJ about to break the bank on a new contract, Darrisaw coming up, and Cousins contract still up in the air? I think all things considered I would have preferred taking advantage of the talent depth in this draft and having a productive TE on a rookie deal for 4 or 5 years while our salary cap gets sorted out.