Draft Quick Thoughts

Welcome, Vikings Central! 

Before we get started, I want to take a minute to quickly introduce myself to you all. I was born and raised a Vikings fan. I spent the first 22 years growing in Bears territory, moved to Lions country for grad school, and spent a year and some change surrounded by Packers fans before finally moving out of the to Denver, CO. I have one pup, get married to my beautiful fiancé this summer, and try to spend my free time either hiking, paddle boarding, or drinking craft beer (big Colorado guy now). 

Anyways...

The draft happened, and Vikings twitter had a lot to say. The first-round trade with the Lions seemed to catch us all, myself included, off guard to say the least. While it seemed like there were plenty of prospects ripe for the taking at #12 (like Jameson Williams, Trent McDuffie, Kyle Hamilton) who could've seemingly stepped in and helped from Day 1, new GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah elected to drop down to the 32nd pick. At #32, the Vikings drafted Georgia S Lewis Cine. 

It's hard to say Cine isn't a great pick at the end of the day...he's got great size (6'2 200lbs), has great instinct, plays fast, and can lay the wood. Do yourself the favor (if you haven't already) and burn the 6 minutes watching a highlights tape. He's quick to read the field and quicker to get to the ball, and playing alongside Harrison Smith should only help Cine develop. 

In addition to the #32 pick, we also got the #34...well, sorta. We ended up trading #34 to the Packers for #53 and #59, to later move back up to #42 for Clemson CB Andrew Booth Jr. I thought this was a great pick, even if I puked some after trading with the Packers. A guy who might've been a 1st rounder if things played out differently, Booth Jr. moves well and has great ball skills. After seeing what Ed Donatell did for Patrick Surtain II last year (4 INTs, 14 pass deflections, 1 TD), it's hard not to get excited for Booth Jr. 

Last but not least, a guy I'm really excited for is Jalen Nailor (WR, Michigan State). Yes, he's injury prone. But also yes, he is explosive and fast and can track the ball. I find it hard to complain about adding guys with big playmaking ability towards the end of the draft. 

Whether you love, like, or hate, the Vikings' moves on draft day, Kwesi executed his plan. The new regime focused more on data, analytics, and its perceived value, than who was on the other end of the phone. I personally couldn't care to read into all of the draft grades floating around the internet now. Do I think think the Vikings helped the Lions more than than they helped themselves? Yeah, I do. But I've been wrong before. 

Ultimately, I like the picks but don't like how we got them. But I'll have faith in Kwesi and Kevin until I don't, and we'll just have to see how it all shakes out over the course of the next few years.