2014 Vikings Draft Discussion

[S197]

Really? One of the tackles? Not Barr or Evans or one of the three QBs? Offensive tackle seems to be among the deepest positions, and while they don't all tend to be great, they do tend to be safe picks in the lower part of the round.

I'd just love to see the reaction if the Vikings were to trade down and then see the other team take one of the coveted quarterbacks. Fan reaction on this board from the camp of (pick one) Bortles, Manziel, or Bridgewater would be massively entertaining.

If they trade down it means they're not looking at a QB in the 1st. If their QB is on the board at #8, they'll stay. As for Barr or Evans, I don't think so, I think teams would trade up for Robinson or Matthews. Perhaps even Watkins in the very unlikely scenario he falls (but then I would rather the Vikings pick him).

I don't really know why you find it all that surprising, you only have to look at last year's draft to see how teams value OTs. 3 of them went in the top 5.

[Eli]

I don't really know why you find it all that surprising, you only have to look at last year's draft to see how teams value OTs. 3 of them went in the top 5.

OTs are always the easy pick, but teams don't often move up to get them. Nobody traded up to get any of the top OTs taken last year. Nobody traded up to get Matt Kalil.

It's like being in the candy store, your head is spinning and you say "Ok, I'll get a nice chocolate bar. Can't go wrong with a chocolate bar." You wouldn't miss your kid's graduation to go buy that chocolate bar, but once you're there and you have 2000 items to choose from, you pick the safe one.

[Demi]

OTs are always the easy pick, but teams don't often move up to get them. Nobody traded up to get any of the top OTs taken last year. Nobody traded up to get Matt Kalil.

It's like being in the candy store, your head is spinning and you say "Ok, I'll get a nice chocolate bar. Can't go wrong with a chocolate bar." You wouldn't miss your kid's graduation to go buy that chocolate bar, but once you're there and you have 2000 items to choose from, you pick the safe one.

Last 10 years or so...look at the history of teams that have taken a OT in the top 10 as well...

[dead_poet]

Y'all need to go see the movie Draft Day. It is fantastic!

Really? Here's a pretty scathing review: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/cult ... rsion.html

When you finish seeing a movie like Draft Day—the NFL’s current foray into what might be called failed experimental cinema—you ask yourself a lot of questions, most of which start with why. Why did I just watch this? Why did people think to make this, and why didn’t other people stop them? Draft Day is one of the dumbest movies about sports ever made because it’s one of the dumbest ideas for a movie about sports that anyone has ever had, a fictional film about pro football that isn’t even actually about football. And yet it’s a movie in which National Football League commissioner and designated shield-protector Roger Goodell appears on screen, as himself, several times; he’s even memorized lines. Why did the NFL—America’s most obsessively messaged and image-conscious sports league—allow this catastrophe to happen?

Edit: Currently 62% on RottenTomatoes (which isn't bad)

[Cliff]

So the movie Draft Day is basically like Water World but with football? Sounds cool.

[Funkytown]

Really? Here's a pretty scathing review: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/cult ... rsion.html

Well, I think football fans will enjoy it. I probably wouldn't recommend it to random people. However, I did go with two others (my friend and little brother) who know a little about football, but not a whole lot--and they know even less about the draft, and they really liked it, too. I think that counts for something! We watched 3 movies the other day, and that was the favorite.

I told all of my football-fan friends to watch it, I liked it that much. I am probably biased, though. I think it's a great watch just before the draft. I know Jim will REALLY love it, because they discuss "panicking" in reference to grabbing a QB. I actually smiled every time I heard it. It discusses a lot of things we discuss here: how well (or not) the owner/GM/coach actually work together, the ridiculous pressure the GMs face, possible fan influence, trades, risk vs. reward, how they overanalyze these players TO DEATH, etc. It's neat.

[S197]

OTs are always the easy pick, but teams don't often move up to get them. Nobody traded up to get any of the top OTs taken last year. Nobody traded up to get Matt Kalil.

It's like being in the candy store, your head is spinning and you say "Ok, I'll get a nice chocolate bar. Can't go wrong with a chocolate bar." You wouldn't miss your kid's graduation to go buy that chocolate bar, but once you're there and you have 2000 items to choose from, you pick the safe one.

If one of those OTs fell out of the top 5 to #8? Yeah I think someone might trade up.

[MDviking]

Terrance west in rd4-5would be a nice pickup.

As a Towson alum, I would endorse this.

[headless_norseman]

If one of those OTs fell out of the top 5 to #8? Yeah I think someone might trade up.

That's all but guaranteed. Jake Mathews is projected at #2 with Robinson projected well after the #5 slot.

[dead_poet]

Thing to consider if the #Vikings pass on at QB at #8: If they trade back into the first from #40, they get that fifth-year option. Huge.

@mattvensel on Twitter

[Mothman]

I don't remember how that option works in relation to draft position. Is it just for first round picks?

[Funkytown]

I don't remember how that option works in relation to draft position. Is it just for first round picks?

Every player selected in the first round of the NFL Draft will automatically have a fifth-year team option added into his contract. This option cannot be separately attached to the player contract.

The option allows a team to retain a player’s rights for five years rather than four, which is the bonus of selecting a player in the first round. 

http://in2theleague.wordpress.com/2013/ ... und-picks/

[Mothman]

http://in2theleague.wordpress.com/2013/ ... und-picks/

Thanks for the info!

[dead_poet]

I've been watching some more film on Shazier and I'd love him in the second, if he lasts that long.

Ryan Shazier - LB - Player

After watching Ohio State LB Ryan Shazier's college tape, NFL Films' Greg Cosell stated on the Ross Tucker Podcast that Shazier is an "unbelievable, sudden quick-twitch athlete."

It shows up in Shazier's measurables, as he ran in the 4.3s at Ohio State's Pro Day, with a scintillating 42-inch vertical and 10-foot-10 broad jump. "There's not a lot of guys who play linebacker who can run like this kid," Cosell said. "This kid is incredibly sudden. He's not a powerful kid, but he was willing to take on blocks when necessary." Cosell did express some concern about Shazier's read-and-react timing. We expect Shazier to be a late first-round pick. You can listen to the full Cosell-Tucker podcast at the link below.
Source: Ross Tucker Podcast

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The hit at 1:20 here is niiiice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmT5sX7G3xk

[Texas Vike]

[quote="dead_poet"]I've been watching some more film on Shazier and I'd love him in the second, if he lasts that long.

Ryan Shazier - LB - Player

After watching Ohio State LB Ryan Shazier's college tape, NFL Films' Greg Cosell stated on the Ross Tucker Podcast that Shazier is an "unbelievable, sudden quick-twitch athlete."

It shows up in Shazier's measurables, as he ran in the 4.3s at Ohio State's Pro Day, with a scintillating 42-inch vertical and 10-foot-10 broad jump. "There's not a lot of guys who play linebacker who can run like this kid," Cosell said. "This kid is incredibly sudden. He's not a powerful kid, but he was willing to take on blocks when necessary." Cosell did express some concern about Shazier's read-and-react timing. We expect Shazier to be a late first-round pick. You can listen to the full Cosell-Tucker podcast at the link below.
Source: Ross Tucker Podcast

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He's all over the field. Seems more complete than a guy like Barr, for example. He changed numbers a lot, apparently (48, 10, 2).