I called it.
In my article about the Vikings’ first… First-round pick of the night, WR Justin Jefferson, I said that the Vikings would draft a corner to end the night. Let me explain why, or rather, let Senior Writer for our network, DeShawn Vaughn, explain (via Twitter):
According to Pro Football Focus, the Vikings had the 27th “best” offensive line against the pass rush. So, people need to really understand that it’s been relatively amazing that the Vikings have done (despite it not living up to the expectations of most fans or sites like TotalSportsPicks.com) what they have (and their quarterback Kirk Cousins) considering their astonishing refusal to draft lineman despite the fact that they’ve been embarrassed in the playoffs (or Monday Night Football against the Packers) in two of the last three years at least partially because of their offensive line woes.
The thing is, they didn’t need to draft Jefferson at 22 (considering the other receivers that are still on the board that, you know, actually can play on the outside).
I said this in my other article:
Read his draft profile from Pro Football Focus.
“Justin Jefferson ran 575 of his 583 total routes from the slot a season ago with LSU. His production was second to none, as he led the nation with 109 slot receptions and 1,518 slot receiving yards.”
Keep in mind that this also hurts what Adam Thielen does best, as he’s amazing in the slot. This reminds me so much of Laquon Treadwell, in that Jefferson is clearly so one-dimensional that it’s hard to justify him being picked by the Vikings (don’t get me wrong, if he was playing on a team with two other good-to-great receivers, he could do… What he did).
But this is about their other pick.
The corner.
Because we all knew that Zimmer would take a corner, like I said. I called it:
This is the most Vikings thing ever.
“With the 22nd overall pick in the first round the Vikings drafted yet ANOTHER receiver from the SEC (which makes about a baker’s dozen at this point), none of which have panned out I’ll remind you. Despite the fact that they could’ve waited into the second round to get a receiver that will have a better career than the mediocre product of the system/players around him in Josh Jefferson, and instead of investing in the offensive line, they went with trading down to the 31st spot and 117, and 176. Next up? I’m sure they’ll draft a corner.”
That corner is Jeff Gladney. From TCU.
You can read about him here, if you want:
“TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney has been selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 31st overall pick in Round 1 of the 2020 NFL draft.
Gladney wasn’t highly rated coming out of high school in New Boston, Texas. He was rated as the No. 203 prospect in Texas by 247Sports in the Class of 2015, and he chose TCU over North Texas and Rice.
But after redshirting as a freshman, Gladney immediately moved into the starting lineup. He started eight games as a redshirt freshman and broke up six passes in 2016. He started the final nine games of his sophomore season and had a 97-yard pick-six against Texas Tech.”
I mean, we can fix this:
I know.
View Comments
Here is the deal, everyone knows we need some picks at WR and DB, the problem is, after the first tier of those guys were off the board, there is a huge 2nd tier that are all pretty equal, as in up to 4th round. However, our lines NEED help, and we very well could have passed on both our starting DE and LT of the future, and lets be honest, there is no depth at those positions in this draft.
This is not the article I was expecting. More than half of it was spent complaining about the Jefferson pick or commentary copy/pasted in from other sources. I love coming to this site for in-depth analysis of Vikings news and draft pick analysis from a Viking fan's point of view. I don't mind a bad review of a pick - if you feel it is bad, preach it! - but make the analysis about that pick and not the one before it. It's like telling friends about how good or bad a movie by how much you enjoyed the one before that. How good is that player, regardless of the teams needs. You can review the draft class after the draft but please help me as a fan to understand how good/bad these new players and how they may contribute to the team going forward.
I hear that.
I do.
But I also spent almost 6 hours live streaming with my draft guys only to have literally the doomsday scenario that proved all my fears since the end of the season literally pan out perfectly.
So, I didn’t really feel like delving into Gladney’s stats because it’s clear the leadership of this team learned nothing from the last half decade and that’s incredibly frustrating.
I think just going along by regurgitating his draft profile or analyzing some fit would’ve been disingenuous as to how I was feeling.
That’s why I just posted the profile info. Same info you would’ve gotten from me at 1230am.
We have draft guys, they’ll analyze this A TON.
But, I don’t write that way and I write how I feel. And all three of us (including our two draft experts) weren’t happy during the stream.
Here’s that stream, too.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=sdJCRNXKrUE
I totally understand where you are coming from and in some ways share your sentiment. I appreciate the time and effort everyone puts in to this site! I was hoping the O-line would be addressed as well and when the pick came in I wanted to know how this would fit my team. Scouting reports and the talking heads of various sports networks can cover the watered down high points, but I turn to sites like these to learn how they fit the coaching, current players, et.. Thank you again for doing what you guys do!
I appreciate that, man.
You're a reasonable guy and as the owner of this site (and purplePTSD.com, and purpleTERRITORYradio.com), I take what our readers say to heart and use it to improve the network. I totally see what you mean and one of our writers had something come up and he was going to do the more dry/X's and O's angle of these picks (so we're working on that now).
I apologize if I sounded defensive or like I feel bad for myself because of the work this takes. That'd be gross of me and I apologize for giving that impression. The goal was to post my feelings and balance it with the stuff you're talking about, as I know that's a big part of our brand and why people come here.
So, it means the world to me that you support us and that you're being patient. We don't get a lot of measured comments like yours, so when we do, again, I take things to heart and make sure that if people are pointing things out as you did that we're addressing it.
That's a very long-winded way of saying stay tuned! I'll post the link to what you're looking for once it's done!
Thanks again, man
And I hope I did not sound offensive or like I was attacking your work. Thanks again and I am greatly looking forward to more great work!
I didn’t take it that way!
I felt bad tbh. Just wanted to explain why my stuff was as it was as my immediate thought was that if one person said it there must be thousands more thinking it!
I tried to bring more objective (for me anyway haha) and informative stuff tonight. I do have a deep dive into JJ going live in the am too. So, I hope that’s a bit more up your alley!
Cause at the end of the day, I want to provide entertaining and informative stuff, not just stuff that broadcasts my consistent disappointment.
Like I said though, you seem like a good dude.
Hope you consider joining our new community (see the top menu for the board, user group, etc), as we need more level headed, cool guys like you!
Thanks man.
Joe