Draft Lead Up: Question 1 - OL Choice

[Snake Plissken]

I think there are a number of good OL options that would be available at 18. There isn’t a single one I would trade up for as I have 5 in my first tier.  I could make a case for and against anyone as the best option.   My rankings fluctuate a bit, but here are my current rankings 

1. Taylor

2. Williams

3. Bradburry 

4. Dillard

5. Ford. 

 

6. Lindstrom 

7. Risner 

would be trade down options. 

[Heavydan85]

I went with jonah becauae i think he'd be a pro bowler at guard OR could potentially move to LT when we move on from RR.

[SemperFeist]

If you’re able to draft Williams, move Reiff to guard and keep Williams at tackle. 

[Heavydan85]

34 minutes ago, SemperFeist said:

If you’re able to draft Williams, move Reiff to guard and keep Williams at tackle. 

I'd guess williams at guard and Reiff at LT for a year or two until we move on from Reiff, but if Williams at lt and Reiff at LG works better I'd love that.

[SteelKing728]

I like Jonah Williams slightly over Bradbury.

I need to watch more of Dillard. Haven't had time this year to really follow college football.

[y*so*blu]

I recommend taking a guy who can block. For some strange reason, I feel like that would be a good thing for us going forward.

[Dolmonite26]

2 hours ago, y*so*blu said:

I recommend taking a guy who can block. For some strange reason, I feel like that would be a good thing for us going forward.

Hot take, brother

[Kparty15]

I’d take most of these guys, but my preference is that if Williams, Dillard, or Oliver aren’t there at 18 then we trade back and try to double dip on guys like Risner, Lindstrom, and Bradbury.

[ArcticNorseman]

I like a lot of these prospects, but figuring Dillard, Taylor and Williams could be gone by the Vikes selection, I went with Bradbury.  I love Lindstrom too, but feel like he's totally a RG, and maybe that's the choice if he's slipping in the 2nd.  Bradbury can be a strong LG in the ZBS with quick feet and good anchor.  He's a bit light and his arms a bit short, but that strength and speed are hard to match.  

Finally, I see a lot of guys say that if we pick Bradbury, Elflein automatically gets the boot from the center position . . . I don't buy that.  BUT, I do love the thought of having two guys capable of running the pivot at pro-bowl level.  Case in point . . . remember Berger at center . . . oofda.

[SemperFeist]

Elflein...at pro bowl level? Can we get to a competent level, first?

[Dolmonite26]

10 minutes ago, SemperFeist said:

Elflein...at pro bowl level? Can we get to a competent level, first?

Rookie year was close no (to competent)?

[SemperFeist]

16 minutes ago, Dolmonite26 said:

Rookie year was close no (to competent)?

Not sure I’d call his rookie year competent from an NFL perspective. It showed promise for a 3rd round rookie, but it was still a well below average performance. 

[Dolmonite26]

10 minutes ago, SemperFeist said:

Not sure I’d call his rookie year competent from an NFL perspective. It showed promise for a 3rd round rookie, but it was still a well below average performance. 

Based on what? His pff grade?  There is some merit there, but I believe his overall grade from them was a little below his performance level as it was brought down by a few very bad games.

I think his rookie year was pretty close to being in line with an average NFL starter and.we're all suffering from some recency bias due to his sophomore slump (which is certainly good cause for concern)

[Eric dunn]

Im surprised that Dillard isnt winning this by a landslide. LT is arguably the most important position on the OL and Dillard is a perfect fit with his athleticism. IMO if he's available he is the obvious choice. I do like Williams as well, and i think its more likely that he could be available. Its somewhat close for me but id take Dillard if hes there regardless of who is on the board. 

Also i dont get all this steam on Bradbury at 18, i dont get it at all. He's a very good prospect and like Risner id take him late 1st/early 2nd and be happy about that. But at 18 i think thats  a reach there. Id take Dillard, Williams, Taylor, Ford, AND Risner before i took Bradbury. Not to mention other positions. If those top 4 are gone at 18 that means a player with good value at a different position slipped. Maybe an edge rusher or Oliver or one of the QB's.

In a perfect world, we can get Dillard at 18 and then maybe someone like a Michael Jordan in the 3rd. A future line of Dillard-Jordan-Pat-Kline-O'Neil sounds pretty good to me with Reiff probably starting one year at LG.

[swede700]

9 hours ago, Eric dunn said:

Im surprised that Dillard isnt winning this by a landslide. LT is arguably the most important position on the OL and Dillard is a perfect fit with his athleticism. IMO if he's available he is the obvious choice. I do like Williams as well, and i think its more likely that he could be available. Its somewhat close for me but id take Dillard if hes there regardless of who is on the board. 

Also i dont get all this steam on Bradbury at 18, i dont get it at all. He's a very good prospect and like Risner id take him late 1st/early 2nd and be happy about that. But at 18 i think thats  a reach there. Id take Dillard, Williams, Taylor, Ford, AND Risner before i took Bradbury. Not to mention other positions. If those top 4 are gone at 18 that means a player with good value at a different position slipped. Maybe an edge rusher or Oliver or one of the QB's.

In a perfect world, we can get Dillard at 18 and then maybe someone like a Michael Jordan in the 3rd. A future line of Dillard-Jordan-Pat-Kline-O'Neil sounds pretty good to me with Reiff probably starting one year at LG.

Bradbury isn't a reach at 18.  If the Vikings don't take him, either the Titans or Ravens will.  He's this year's version of Ryan Kelly...a C most people projected to be late 1st rd/early 2nd, but ended up going the middle of the 1st.  He's got the attitude the Vikings need on the offensive line and the athleticism and skill to be successful long-term in the ZBS.  

I didn't pick him here, because I was under the impression that we were supposed to rank them in order of preference, regardless of whether they're likely to be available or not...which is why I picked Taylor.  If you were to put me under the microscope, Bradbury would probably be my 3rd or 4th choice.