Unraveling the Method of the Vikings Draft
To say the draft as a whole isn’t going as planned in many ways is not an understatement.
While the first four picks went as expected, at least in order if not teams, the rest have been mostly surprise picks with a few universally mocked picks hitting the mark. On Thursday night, the Donovan Jackson pick by the Vikings wasn’t necessarily “off the radar”, but it was an outlier in most mock drafts.
Unraveling the Method of the Vikings Draft
When you really dig into it and see more experts applauding the pick, it isn’t as surprising as most think. The fact that the Texans bailed out of the pick right after the Vikings and dropped down quite a bit insinuates that he was their target, too. Either way, he was considered a 1st round-pick by others in the league.
While some thought the Vikings would trade up into the 2nd round today to get a player they coveted, they instead stayed put. Sitting at 97 and not trading up was the way to handle it — no need to panic and no need to trade up with so many options still on the board.
Since they don’t have a gaping hole to fill, these picks are to fill out the roster, and they can be patient and see what reaches them. My guess is that they were waiting on safety Xavier Watts until the Falcons jumped ahead of them. It mirrored when the Vikings drafted Jackson and the Texans immediately traded out of the spot just below them.
The move to the last pick in the 3rd didn’t hurt them at all, and it improved their lower picks to the first and fourth picks in the 5th round.
The pick was surprising at 102. The Vikings still could have had their pick of some good corners, safeties, tight ends, defensive tackles, and running backs.
So, when Tai Felton’s name was announced by Vikings legend Stu Voight in Green Bay, there seemed to be a collective, “Um, OK” in the fanbase and beyond. He just wasn’t a name most thought would be a pick, mainly because wide receiver wasn’t necessarily a need for the team. But was it a bad pick?
I took time to think about it while watching the Wolves down the Lakers in game three. I regained sight of this draft, which has been for the last few months. I had to remind myself that most have been saying what a deep draft this is at defensive tackle, safety, and running back.
Since it is so deep there and a good amount of those players at those positions are still on the board, the teams should look at the value of players at the weaker positions in this draft and get the better players while they can. If there are several players within a position and at different positions that grade out similarly, they can wait as they all get pushed down while teams take the better players at the weaker positions.
The Vikings, of course, also did well in free agency, so they don’t have to force any picks to fill an immediate need. Hence, drafting Jackson wasn’t a bad pick, but he was the end of the top tier of offensive guards, and it was wise for the Vikings to take a guy they wanted at a position they wanted to strengthen and add depth to.
Here’s why you don’t need to grind your teeth over either pick so far. Jackson is a stud true guard. He played on a college championship team, which he helped get there by flexing out to left tackle after the coaching staff asked him to after an injury. He played out of position, and some bad things show up on tape, but so do the times he shined at the position that wasn’t his natural spot.
With Felton, the pick makes sense as he fills a few roles for the team and adds depth they might need if Jordan Addison is suspended by the league for driving infractions this season. He also projects as a special teams gunner and might be able to take over punt return duties from Brandon Powell, who the team didn’t re-sign. He also brings a ton of speed to the position, running a 4.37 40-yard dash, with sure hands and ball security, where he can take the top off the defense along with Jalen Nailor.
I think the aspect that the Vikings and any teams looking at him were picturing was his yards after the catch (YAC) stats and potential. Is he the one most expected to be drafted there? Of course not, but does it make some sense? Yes, it does, based on the depth at other positions still on the board.
Saturday, the Vikings will have to wait until the 5th round rolls in to pick again unless they trade up into the 4th round with this year’s or next year’s picks. They could theoretically trade players as well, but that doesn’t seem feasible unless they trade away a decent player like Josh Oliver in a package deal.
The good news is that plenty of good players on the board could reach them in the 5th round and put solid depth on the team. I would not put it past the team to trade down from that second 5th-round pick as well to pick up a 6th and 7th rounder to secure some players they don’t think will make it to the undrafted free agent pool.
While these picks may have me and you scratching our heads a bit, they make sense in the grand scheme. How the Vikings finish day three will solidify these early choices, and I’ll save full judgment until they play this fall.
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