Viktor
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
- 2,552
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Doug Farrar, Touchdown Wire
Trading Stefon Diggs to Buffalo and losing most of their cornerbacks in free agency made the Vikings draft needs very clear, and they addressed both very well in the first round. Justin Jefferson was LSU's top slot receiver last season, but he can be more than that in a pro passing game. He doesn't quite have the pure explosion Diggs provided, but he caught 111 passes for 1,540 yards and 18 touchdowns last season. And TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney is an ideal man and match cornerback with his outstanding footwork, spatial awareness and trail speed. To serve as Gladney's potential future bookend, Minnesota also grabbed Mississippi State's Cameron Dantzler, a favorite of most analysts, including this one. The guy to watch from the third day is fourth-round linebacker Troy Dye from Oregon. [Vikings Head Coach] Mike Zimmer values linebackers who can cover half the field, and Dye has that skill set all day. The Vikings held steady at receiver, and they upgraded a cornerback rotation that [struggled] in 2019.
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Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
Best Pick: Second-round offensive tackle Ezra Cleveland was a player I thought the Vikings would take in the first round. To get him in the second round is big-time value. He will be a long-time starter.
The Skinny: The Vikings had 15 picks in this draft and did a nice job of using most of them. Rick Spielman knows how to use the draft to get what he needs. First-round receiver Justin Jefferson fills an immediate need and Gladney could be a star if he stays focused. Keep an eye on fourth-round linebacker Troy Dye, who can fly.
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Andy Benoit, Monday Morning Quarterback
Grade: A –
This was a workmanlike job by the Vikings, filling their roster's myriad of holes one by one. … At first glance, Jefferson may not seem like an ideal style of replacement [for Diggs]. At LSU, 109 of his 111 catches came from the slot. The Vikings, however, often play with just two wide receivers on the field (which usually means no slot position to fill) and likely see Justin Jefferson as an outside weapon. The [6-foot-1], 202-pounder played with polish and a sound sense of tempo in LSU's offense and should transition effectively to a new role in a Vikings scheme that will make heavy use of in-breaking routes off play-action.
Mike Zimmer historically prefers to develop cornerbacks from the bench in Year One, but with so few quality corners on the roster, don't be surprised if Gladney starts in 2020 — perhaps in a nickel slot role, which plays to his skill set. Zimmer's corners are always sound tacklers. That, and blitzing, were two things Gladney did well at TCU. It's possible Dantzler could see significant playing time in 2020, as well. Ideally, though, he'll follow the traditional Zimmer route and develop from the bench early on, as his game needs some polish. Best-case scenario in 2020 is he plays outside in nickel situations, where he is physical and competitive.
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Eric Edholm, YAHOO! Sports
Grade: B +
This class was like Rod Carew batting practice: one sharp line drive after another. In time there might be a discussion about the wisdom of the largest draft class in recent memory (15 picks!), especially given that they already own 10 picks in 2021 and could receive more in compensatory selections. … They landed talent and value throughout and left nary a stone unturned. [This is] a cast of middle- and upper-middle-class performers who give this roster some nice reinforcements at several positions — especially those that were considered needs.
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Thor Nystrom, Rotoworld
Grade: A +
This is how it's done, folks. Rick Spielman badly needed a strong draft with his team in transition, and he enjoyed a banner three-day process. Things were going so well for the Vikings that Mike Zimmer's hunting lodge became a secondary star of the telecast. By my chart, the Vikes walked away from this draft with three first-round values, a second-rounder, two thirds, three fifths and a seventh. That they all happened to be awesome scheme fits at positions of need? Quarantine looked good on Minny.
Mark Maske, The Washington Post
Grade: B +
The Vikings clearly believe in quantity, stockpiling third-day picks and ending up with an immense draft class of 15 players. That's a bit unwieldy for roster management, and perhaps they should have traded up a few times. Even so, it's easy to like what they did early, using their first-round picks on WR Justin Jefferson and CB Jeff Gladney, then getting T Ezra Cleveland in the second round rather than trading for [Redskins tackle Trent] Williams.
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Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News
Grade: A +
Congratulations to Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer. Not only did the Vikings maneuver to gain insane volume ([15] picks), they also knew they exactly what to do with them. They got their wideout to replace Stefon Diggs and corners to replace Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander. In true Zimmer fashion, they also reinforced their defensive front seven nicely and had room to get a potential left tackle of the near future. That's incredible.
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