3. 78 - Chazz Surratt, LB, North Carolina

[SemperFeist]

Edited May 1, 2021 by SemperFeist

[byuvike88]

First pick I wasn't very excited about

[Eric dunn]

This is the first pick i dont like. Would rather have had Cox if they were going LB. 

[Worm Guts]

The production looks pretty good at least.

[PrplChilPill]

He's 24? Gonna have to learn fast....all about potential, but he's not young. Interesting choice.

[gopherwrestler]

28 minutes ago, PrplChilPill said:

He's 24? Gonna have to learn fast....all about potential, but he's not young. Interesting choice.

Damn.... I guess I’m old!

[Purplepride323]

4 hours ago, Eric dunn said:

This is the first pick i dont like. Would rather have had Cox if they were going LB. 

Exactly what I thought. I would rather have had Browning as well. He does know how to get pressure on the QB though. 

[viking]

First meh pick of the night, I think we could have picked up a developmental LB in the 4th. A lot of potential starting talent still left on the board.

[SteelKing728]

Not too excited about this one, but maybe he's the starting SLB next year once Barr leaves.

I guess he could "start" at WLB but that will likely be either Vigil or Dye I assume.

[Ozzy]

1 minute ago, SteelKing728 said:

Not too excited about this one, but maybe he's the starting SLB next year once Barr leaves.

I guess he could "start" at WLB but that will likely be either Vigil or Dye I assume.

Yeah they got Vigil and Dye but Surratt will compete with them to start, and if he does not start he could be a hell when brought in on blitz packages.  

The dude has only played two seasons at linebacker in a four year college career, and in those two years work himself into being a mid level NFL draft pick.  Sure is raw but has rarely played the position, has elite athletic skills and a ton of upside.  Age is an issue?  Since when?  He sat on the bench as a backup QB for two seasons....pretty damn impressive what he has done defensively as a backup QB.

I did not even really remember this but as RS FR QB he threw 183 passes for 1342 yards and 8 TDs, 3 INTs, ran the ball 210 yards and 5 TDs.  

 

The guy will come screaming off the edge and destroy dudes, 207 tackles, 22.5 TFLs and 12.5 sacks in two years at LB for UNC.  Could play him almost in the slot and blitz him at times, he is going to be a hell of a weapon and has a massive upside.  People are really underrating his pass rush potential and yeah seems odd to draft a replacement for Dye already but why not, see who wins out at that other LB spot and if anything Chazz is more of a rover type almost safety.

 

[wcblack34]

The more I've read about and looked at this pick, the more I like it. 

[SemperFeist]

I think a lot of the initial reaction is because he’s a player that we hadn’t heard about, talked about, or a position that we envisioned them taking that early. 

But Surratt was the 81st ranked player on the aggregate big board. He was drafted at 78. There were a couple of linebackers available who ranked higher on the aggregate board, Cox (58) and Browning (67), but let’s not act like Surratt was a massive reach.

[vike daddy]

14 minutes ago, SemperFeist said:

I think a lot of the initial reaction is because he’s a player that we hadn’t heard about, talked about, or a position that we envisioned them taking that early. 

But Surratt was the 81st ranked player on the aggregate big board. He was drafted at 78. There were a couple of linebackers available who ranked higher on the aggregate board, Cox (58) and Browning (67), but let’s not act like Surratt was a massive reach.

i'm all for evaluating his effectiveness after we, you know, see him play.

[wcblack34]

I think the defensive staff saw his athleticism, willingness to learn, and football IQ from being the sackee and not the sacker, and thought that they could mold him into something special. I think that's reasonable and a good gamble when you have 4 third round picks. He was going to be a third round pick anyway, most likely. Imagine where he might have gone if he had played linebacker for 3 years...

[Ozzy]

18 minutes ago, SemperFeist said:

I think a lot of the initial reaction is because he’s a player that we hadn’t heard about, talked about, or a position that we envisioned them taking that early. 

But Surratt was the 81st ranked player on the aggregate big board. He was drafted at 78. There were a couple of linebackers available who ranked higher on the aggregate board, Cox (58) and Browning (67), but let’s not act like Surratt was a massive reach.

Browning I had rated higher but is not what the Vikings need, my guess is the Broncos use him as a 3/4 OLB at times, but he does not have the speed Surratt does, neither does Cox who is good in coverage but does not have as high of ceiling as Surratt.  And if he does not pan out, who cares they have so many draft picks, really put themselves in a good position to get multiple players at certain positions and let them fight it out.