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Pick 10: Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State: The Eagles obviously did not like Fields enough to take him with their first-round pick. And that s fine. If you don t love a quarterback, don t take him. Personally, I think he s a very talented player and there s a lot to work with. Obviously, I did not have a chance to get to know him as a person the same way scouts and front office folks do, but from what info was available to me, I d have taken him.
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Pick 37: Christian Barmore, DT, Alabama: I had him going 25th overall in my first-round mock, and think he d have been great value at pick 37.
By Jack Day | KFAN
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl - USC v Iowa
The Minnesota Vikings are coming off another draft where they led the league with the most selections made. Over the last two seasons the team has totaled 26 draft picks creating room for a much younger roster.
There were rookies that got thrown into situations they weren’t ready for in 2020 due to an injury plagued season, but the depth is looking much stronger after another solid class in 2021. The team has a long way to go before making decisions on the 53-man roster, but the evaluations are set to begin this coming weekend with rookie minicamp kicking off May 14.
Q: What are the weakest and strongest parts of the Vikings roster post draft? @supersandrue
AK: The most talent on this Vikings roster remains at the skill positions, where running back Dalvin Cook, tight end Irv Smith Jr., and receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen form one of the NFL s best corps around the quarterback. They ve got some depth, too, particularly in the backfield with fullback C.J. Ham and No. 2 back Alexander Mattison joined by an athletic newcomer in fourth-round running back Kene Nwangwu (pronounced Wahn-goo). He ll effectively try to replace former No. 3/special teamer Mike Boone, who signed with the Broncos in free agency. Speaking of free agency, the secondary got a lot stronger with the additions of corners Patrick Peterson and Mackensie Alexander, and safety Xavier Woods. It may sound counterintuitive with Christian Darrisaw and Wyatt Davis drafted early, but we can t know if the offensive line is better until they take NFL snaps. Darrisaw has big sho
Grading the Vikings Draft
https://www.dailynorseman.com/2021/5/4/22420218/draft-analysis
I wanted to look at the draft from a different angle, that of draft performance. Did the Vikings maximize the draft? It isn t as simple as judging Trader Rick s performance because it includes player value and that involves scouting. It is a team effort and a team result.
There are lots of places that are grading the drafts of all the teams and some of the results are surprising. I want to do the truest and most accurate of draft grades, almost scientific, depending on logic.
Obviously, players that we and the teams believe will be great will often fail and vice versa. Often the #4 player at a position will be the top pro and so on. Without a crystal ball (and the appropriate amount of magic inside it) we cannot yet know how things will turn out. But we can still grade performance based on some logical measures.
Vikings announce uniform numbers for 2021 Draft Class
And there are a couple of surprises
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings drafted 11 new players over the three days of the 2021 NFL Draft. Today, they announced the uniform numbers that those 11 players would be wearing when they take the field in purple for the first time.
Here’s the full listing, per the team’s website.
Christian Darrisaw - #71
Jaylen Twyman - #76
None of the new draftees appear to have taken advantage of the NFL’s new number rules. That’s a bit surprising, given that a couple of players on that list. . .Kene Nwangwu and Ihmir Smith-Marsette. . .wore single-digit numbers in college and could have adopted those numbers without taking the sort of financial hit that more veteran players might have to take.