2019 Draft Talk

[SemperFeist]

I guess it comes down to the subjective nature of the draft, as my idea of the top offensive linemen may differ than yours. 

Personally, I have Williams, Dillard, Taylor, Bradbury, Risner, Ford, and Lindstrom all in my top linemen list. I’d take any one of them at 18, and over a player like Wilkins. And I’d be pretty confident heading into the draft that at least a couple of them would be available at 18, while my confidence would be much less about any of them being around at 50. 

[swede700]

43 minutes ago, SemperFeist said:

I guess it comes down to the subjective nature of the draft, as my idea of the top offensive linemen may differ than yours. 

Personally, I have Williams, Dillard, Taylor, Bradbury, Risner, Ford, and Lindstrom all in my top linemen list. I’d take any one of them at 18, and over a player like Wilkins. And I’d be pretty confident heading into the draft that at least a couple of them would be available at 18, while my confidence would be much less about any of them being around at 50. 

At this point, I wouldn't take either Risner or Lindstrom over Wilkins.  

[The Gnat]

Just now, swede700 said:

At this point, I wouldn't take either Risner or Lindstrom over Wilkins.  

I might take Lindstrom over Wilkins, but I wouldn't take Risner.

[vikingsrule]

1 hour ago, SemperFeist said:

I guess it comes down to the subjective nature of the draft, as my idea of the top offensive linemen may differ than yours. 

Personally, I have Williams, Dillard, Taylor, Bradbury, Risner, Ford, and Lindstrom all in my top linemen list. I’d take any one of them at 18, and over a player like Wilkins. And I’d be pretty confident heading into the draft that at least a couple of them would be available at 18, while my confidence would be much less about any of them being around at 50. 

I don't think much seperates the OL you listed. Some will get pushed higher than others due to team preference, but at the end of the day there doesn't seem to be a a standout blue chipper. I guess if you like any of the players you listed as a day one starter, what's the harm in taking that player at 18 (versus trading down). Maximizing number of draft picks is certainly a viable strategy, but you're not going to get high picks moving down a few spots in round one. You're talking maybe late fourth and fifth round picks. Moving down to 28-32 is way too big of a jump for me. 

[wcblack34]

I see Dillard as a cut above the other options listed in Semper's post. He's the best pass-blocker in the draft and has All-Pro potential in that regard. He will struggle in the run game initially, but I think a couple of seasons in an NFL S&C program will help fix that. He's also an athletic fit for a ZBS and that will mask some of his run-blocking deficiencies. While I understand that Reiff is no sure thing at Guard, and the IOL is weak, I think Dillard is too good to pass up at 18. 

[Cearbhall]

26 minutes ago, wcblack34 said:

I see Dillard as a cut above the other options listed in Semper's post. He's the best pass-blocker in the draft and has All-Pro potential in that regard. He will struggle in the run game initially, but I think a couple of seasons in an NFL S&C program will help fix that. He's also an athletic fit for a ZBS and that will mask some of his run-blocking deficiencies. While I understand that Reiff is no sure thing at Guard, and the IOL is weak, I think Dillard is too good to pass up at 18. 

In a ZBS, arm length is more important for the tackles. I am a little concerned about Dillard's arm length and what that means for his odds of success in a ZBS.  He isn't far off normal for a ZBS tackle, but ideally in the first round they are at least average.  I see Dillard listed at 33.5 inches.  Arm length is not something that can be coached up.

[swede700]

24 minutes ago, Cearbhall said:

 Arm length is not something that can be coached up.

 

Sure it is, just have the coaching staff stick him on the rack for a few weeks...voila!

[VikeManDan]

1 hour ago, Cearbhall said:

In a ZBS, arm length is more important for the tackles. I am a little concerned about Dillard's arm length and what that means for his odds of success in a ZBS.  He isn't far off normal for a ZBS tackle, but ideally in the first round they are at least average.  I see Dillard listed at 33.5 inches.  Arm length is not something that can be coached up.

Not about Dillard but thought this piece was interesting.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/draft-jonah-williams-can-overcome-combine-measurements

[vike daddy]

Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, on Cody Ford:

“If we had really strongly advised Cody to stay, he would have. But that wasn’t going to be the best thing for Cody. He’s going to be a first-round pick. Every part of it makes sense for him to go ahead and go to the NFL even though it would help our team if he stayed next year. I just try and be brutally honest with them, you can’t bring them in there and tell them what they want to hear or just what you want to tell them. It’s got to be the truth. If you’re truthful and transparent with them their whole way through, you’ll build trust in that relationship and they’ll listen to your opinion. At the end of the day, they’ve got to make the decision. We also use a lot of numbers and research to back up what we’re talking about and, at the end of the day, we want guys to do well.”

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/04/17/lincoln-riley-im-brutally-honest-with-players-about-going-pro/

[dc_vikingfan]

Starting to like the idea of draft Bradbury and moving Elf to OG if Jonah Williams is gone. While not the best OL in league this is a solid line Reif-Elf-Bradbury-Kline-O'Neil. 

Use a 2nd or 3rd for a LT of the future   

[vikingsrule]

1 hour ago, dc_vikingfan said:

Starting to like the idea of draft Bradbury and moving Elf to OG if Jonah Williams is gone. While not the best OL in league this is a solid line Reif-Elf-Bradbury-Kline-O'Neil. 

Use a 2nd or 3rd for a LT of the future   

I like it too but I'd rather use the 2nd or 3rd on the RG of the present. I'm struggling to have confidence in Kline. 

[byuvike88]

19 hours ago, Heavydan85 said:

I'd expect 2 in the first 4 rounds personally.  A real throw a ton of people at the problem and hope 5 decent ones stick situation.  Kline signed for good backup/bad starter money.  To pencil him in as a starter seems like terrible resource management imo.

My ideal draft scenario: Dillard is there at 18, the texans give us their 3rd to move up We take Bradbury in the 1st, a WR in the 2nd, and Tytus howard and Gerald Willis fall to us in the Third.  With the 4th I'd take Gary Johnson because he is my draft man crush lol. fill out depth with like a safety, rb, maybe another wr and probably a corner (or hyper athletic DE that falls for some reason)...because of course lol

Ideally it would be nice to pick up another third. But if they can't I think a move tight end, and a third receiver are more pressing that a lineman who will be back up. I think a 1/2 round lineman and a 4th round lineman would be a solid start. 

[Scoundrel]

Ok Friends I had the Vikings again in a mock (with three other teams, 8gm mock)

I traded down from 18 to 32 for pick 64 (lost a little on the pick chart but wanted to add another pick)

I took Lindstrom at 32

I then traded 50 and 64 to Seattle who had 40 and 84. (Perfect 670 for 670 value)

I also have my Broncos and would have taken Erik McCoy at 41 so I jumped myself to take Erik McCoy for the Vikings 

1.32- Chris Lindstrom

2.40- Erik McCoy

3.81

3.84

and all of the rest of the original Vikings picks

[Taylor0026]

I feel that in a Zone Blocking Scheme we should be targeting players that fit in that mold.  However Cody Ford for me seems like a great fit between RG or even RT (If we feel that O'Neil can move to LT eventually).  Jonah Williams would probably be the other OL pick I hope might be available at #18.  Williams probably won't be there as his floor is pretty high and has versatility too.  After that maybe Bradbury or Lindstrom but maybe trade back if we feel we can get them in the 20-27 range.  Dillard is a possibility too but I just don't know how much confidence I could have playing a rookie Day One at Left Tackle ??? while moving Rieff to LG which we don't even know if he can play that position?  This is the Same problem with drafting a center? Do we know if moving Elfline to Guard would work?  3 Tech could be another option in the first round as well.  Oliver is one who might drop to 18.  Imagine lining him up next to Hunter with Barr and Kendricks in the A Gaps and Griffin and Weahtherly on the other side of the DL or use a 2 Down 4 LB  package in Nickel.  DB is always a possibility too.  One can never have enough DB's and Trey, Mac, Harris and Kearse  are UFA'S at the end of the year.  If no CB is taken by our pick at #18 taking a long hard look at the top CB in this Class is a valid option.  Once again this is all first round #18 speculation.  I'd go rounds #1 Best OL #2-7 BPA.

[Cearbhall]

5 hours ago, Taylor0026 said:

 Dillard is a possibility too but I just don't know how much confidence I could have playing a rookie Day One at Left Tackle ??? while moving Rieff to LG which we don't even know if he can play that position?  This is the Same problem with drafting a center? Do we know if moving Elfline to Guard would work? 

If the Vikings come out of the draft with a LT, my assumption would be that Reiff would still be the starting LT until that player beats Reiff out for the spot. I can't imagine it would be simply handed to a rookie.  If the rookie beats Reiff out for the starting job before the start of the season I would expect the team to trade Reiff away before the season. This would save the team $5.1M this season against the cap and $8.8M next season against the cap according to OTC. I do not see moving Reiff to LG as a likely outcome. Given the unsettled nature of that position, the team may give him a chance to win the starting LG job if he loses his LT job but it is also possible, if not likely, that Reiff would lose that competition and end up being cut before the season. I can't imagine the team keeping him around as a backup on that salary.

Of course, the more likely scenario than Reiff being cut or traded if a LT is drafted IMO is that the rookie doesn't beat Reiff out for the job in the preseason. Reiff starts the year as the LT for the team while the rookie is given a red shirt year.

As far as center, it is easy to imagine a rookie beating out Elflein for that job. If Elflein hasn't improved quite a bit it would be terrible if the team didn't have someone else around that could beat out Elflein. I don't assume Elflein's odds of success at guard would be greater than at C, but he can compete there. If he doesn't win a starting G job, which seems likely, I think the Elflein would make an ideal backup for all three interior offensive line positions. That is where I would be projecting him right now.

Heading into the draft, the team has this on the offensive line for starters:

LT: Reiff
LG: ?
C: ?
RB: Kline
RT: O'Neill

It is questionable whether they should even be handing a starting job to Kline, but given the contract it seems they will be doing that.  As far as the other two starting positions, the team has a few guys that can compete for the jobs but nobody that should be handed the job. Elflein, Jones, Collins, Isidora, and hopefully a couple guys that aren't yet on the roster.  I give the edge to the guys that are still only hopefully on the roster to win those starting jobs.

I know that is a pretty sad state of affairs, but that is the reality of the situation right now.

If the team adds nobody, I would give the edge to Elflein and Jones. It is even a sadder state of affairs for the offensive line if those two guys end up being handed the starting jobs rather than beating out reasonable competition for those jobs.

Let's see what kind of magic Rick has up his sleeve in terms of trades during the draft for veteran players. Sometimes a team that drafts a position high is willing to trade away the incumbent for pennies on the dollar.