Draft Day thread

[J. Kapp 11]

I get it. Even though this team hasn't won big over the past decade, it's not that often that we draft as high as 12.

As for the All Pros, maybe this will help. The Los Angeles Rams offensive line had the highest pass-block win rate in the NFL last year. Yet they didn't have a single Pro Bowler, let alone All Pro. As far as roster depth, we're deeper at corner, linebacker, safety and the offensive line than we were on the last day of the season. You don't build depth with No. 12 picks. You build depth in the middle rounds. We had three more picks in rounds 1-5 than we started the draft with.

Also, not sure where you get the idea we have no All Pros. Justin Jefferson is a two-time All Pro, having garnered second-team honors both years in the league. Dalvin Cook should have been an All Pro in 2020, but they gifted it to Alvin Kamara. We got Cook in the second round. Danielle Hunter is an All Pro (2018). We got him in the 3rd round. Eric Kendricks is an All Pro (2019). Got him in the second. And of course Harrison Smith is a two-time All Pro (2017, 2018). We have some pretty darned good players.

You forgot Cousins who made it in 2021 replacing Rodgers. I guess he don't count. You do know it's 2022 right? Hunter was a great pick and it could be argued he was Speilman's best pick. We are a different team when he plays. That's what top talent does. You are going back to 2018 with him. You can get players from anywhere I'm fully aware of that. Perhaps me stating All pro was far fetched. IMO you have a much better chance of getting a top level player at pick 1 than pick 32. As an example Andrew Luck would never be at 32. As you keep rolling through the picks your odds go down because the pool of top players is smaller. Trader down Kewsi made the move. Good for him. He's being billed as a genius because of a Wall Street background which is BS. The move he made anybody could have made. He did nothing close to ground breaking or Earth shattering. Draft one is in the books. Hopefully he drafted some good players.

Which is it, man? All Pro (voted by media) or Pro Bowl (fan popularity contest). There’s a big difference. Yes, Kirk Cousins is a multiple-time Pro Bowler (both times as an alternate, but I digress). He’s never made an All Pro team. Look it up.

You didn’t specify WHEN the players were All Pro. You just said we didn’t have any, which is incorrect. And if you meant Pro Bowler, than you contradicted your own point, since we have more Pro Bowlers than All Pros.

All this to say — I understand your frustration with the trades. I was trying to shine some optimistic light your way, but you’re apparently having none of it. So you have yourself a fine day.

[StanM]

I hope not. That would indicate that the Vikings didn't have a good year.

The Ravens draft this year is one to keep an eye on just for entertainment. This will be a true test of the body count draft. 6 4th rounders is basically an entire draft in one round. Plus two 1st rounders a 2nd and a 3rd. That's a ton of bodies. Of course they will have some misses that always happens to every GM. Just the volume of picks should set the team up for many years. It's never that simple and of course some other BS will pop up which could throw a monkey wrench into their approach.

I heard an interesting take on the Vikings draft but can’t recall the source. Statistics show that the majority of successful draft choices come in something like the 30th to (can’t recall the second number) and that the Vikings came close to getting a pick every ten slots within that range. When looked at in that light this all makes for a better way to build depth.

Or to put it another way, they had a choice between adding one first rounder or a handful of talent from the statistical “sweet spot” of the draft. The Vikings have plenty of high level players so going one year drafting to shore up depth and speed whether everyone agrees or not should benefit them more than say another receiver at this time.

I don’t look for their draft method to be taking this same approach every year. Next year their focus will be on other needs and could take an entirely different theme. I think they made a good and necessary move for the current circumstances.