Minnesota Sports Forum

bleedspeed177 wrote:What I am hearing about Alexander really impresses me.

He is easily my favorite player we drafted although I didn't even know he existed before we got him.

Same here.

Starting with the first pick, the Vikings selected one of the best (if not the best) receivers in the draft in Laquon Treadwell. Truth be told I wanted them to take Myles Jack because he was the actual best player on most boards regardless of the concerns about his knee. He is just too dynamic of a player to let go by. When reviewing this draft I will always wonder if Spielman had an offer from another team for the #23 pick getting back a late first and third. Obviously, they then still could have had Jack. But alas, it was not meant to be. I will say I would have been OK with trading a future 1st plus whatever to try and get Jack after taking Treadwell.

But Treadwell was the pick and the analysis on him has past the paralysis point so there is no need to go into that arena. I will say something that I have always thought about 40 times since I have been following the draft. I think timing players without their helmets and shoulder pads (since that is all they basically wear) does not really tell how fast a player is on the football field. Some of these players who are faster probably slow down more than Treadwell IMHO. As big and strong as Treadwell is, and after reviewing the tape (I don't have access to tape but it does make me seem like I know what I am talking about when I type that no?), Treadwell does look fast enough.

So why did the Vikings take him instead of Jack? I think there are several factors with the need at WR being higher than LB being most prominent. But I am not a fan of this drafting strategy because the Vikings would probably have never drafted Randy Moss or Adrian Peterson if they believed in this totally.

I think you have to look at upcoming free agents as well and contract situations. Next year, you have Cordarelle Patterson, Charles Johnson, and Adam Thielen all free agents. I have very little confidence that CP84 would want to sign an extension here after next season. I do believe he is going to do his best next year since it is a contract season. But I think he is going to test free agency to see if he may be able to get more snaps elsewhere. I have no idea about Johnson and Thielen.

Jack would have been a luxury pick for certain considering the linebackers already on the roster, the fact that the team will probably be in the nickel over half the time (although Jack surely would have been on the field), and the situation with Jack's knee.

The Treadwell pick gets a very solid A.


In round 2, they come up with the #54 pick. According to Arif's big board which I like the best player available was Mackensie Alexander.

Other players available were Andrew Billings, Cody Whitehair, Tyler Boyd, Vonn Bell, Connor Cook, Kendall Fuller, Shilique Calhoun, Braxton Miller, & Darian Thompson to name a few.

I think the best argument could be made for Whitehair who many scouts believe will kick inside in the NFL and could even possibly play center or Billings who is only 20 years old but a player that many feel cannot be on the field on passing downs (yet). If you want to make an argument then the best one would be for Whitehair unless the Vikings took Jack with the first pick then you could argue Boyd very reasonably.

But Mackensie Alexander was the pick. There is nothing to argue here when you consider that Terence Newman is probably in his last year and Munnerlyn will be a free agent that could be a little pricier than the Vikings want to consider. Also, Rhodes needs a new deal too.

In the prism of upcoming contract, not much proven depth behind the top 3, and best player available ...

The Alexander pick gets an A+.


In round 3, the Vikings came up with the #86 pick. The top players available were Andrew Billings, Kenneth Dixon, Joshua Perry, Devontae Booker, Jeremy Cash, Christian Westerman, Kentrell Brothers, Javon Hargrave, Sheldon Day, Pharok Cooper, Leonte Carroo, & Justin Simmons.

At this point you could reasonably make an argument for Billings, Hargrave, Westerman, or Simmons IMO.

But the Vikings decided to 86 themselves out of that spot and got back a future 3rd, future 4th, and a 6th round pick.

This move gets an A++ from me since I love trades.


In round 4, the Vikings come up with the #121 pick. The top players available were Andrew Billings, Kenneth Dixon, Devontae Booker, Jeremy Cash, Christian Westerman, & Kentrell Brothers.

The Vikings decided to take Willie Beavers an offensive tackle who had 40 starts at left tackle. He has things he needs to work on which at this point in the draft most of the players will, but there really was maybe only one tackle they could have selected otherwise and that would be Jerald Hawkins from LSU. Some could argue for Kyle Murphy, Joe Haeg, or someone else and that is OK. But with Billings on the board it was tough to see them pass.

The Beavers pick gets a C+.

In round 5, the Vikings come up with the 160 pick. At that point Christian Westerman, Kentrell Brothers, & Vadal Alexander were still on the board.

The Vikings went with Brothers.

The Brothers pick gets a B+.

I liked Scooby Wright better in that spot but his injuries may have been too much of a concern. But make no mistake, Scooby Wright was a stud prior to getting hurt. You do not win the Nagurski, Lombardi, and Butkus awards in the same year if you are chopped liver. His production in 2014 was astronomical!


In round 6, the Vikings come up with the 180 pick. This is where they threw caution to the wind and went for a lottery ticket player and select a man who goes by the nickname Schweigen (Silence in English), Moritz Boehringer. I liked several other players at that spot and two other receivers in Keyarris Garrett (who led the NCAA in receiving yards) and overcame a compound fracture of his lower left leg (similar to Treadwell overcoming his injury) and Mike Thomas.

The Boehringer pick gets an INC.

I cannot grade this pick because I have only seen the youtube highlights of his Pop Warner career (or what looks like it). There is just no way to give any reasonable opinion unless you see him play on this level against top competition.


The Vikings had another pick in round 6 which was #186 which they traded to the Dolphins for #196 & 227. Tthey then trade from #196 back up to #188 using #196 & 240.

They took David Morgan TE from the University of Texas San Antonio with the #188 pick. I did not see him play this year but he is considered the best blocking TE in this draft. Considering Ellison is likely to start the season on the PUP list, this pick was really expected. Maybe not the player but a TE/HB pick was expected by me.

The Morgan pick gets a B.


In round 7, the Vikings come up with the #227 pick. They selected Stephen Weatherly. His athleticism fits what the Vikings look for in a pass rusher. Once again, if you consider Robison will be 34 next year and entering the last year of his deal, this pick makes a lot of sense. Weatherly is going to have to battle hard to make the final 53 though.

The Weatherly pick gets an A.


The Vikings had another pick in round 7 which was #244. They selected Jayvon Kearse. I love this pick and I am biased but he is just the kind of safety Zimmer likes. He is eerily similar to George Iloka and we say what Zimmer did with him. This is one of my favorite picks in this draft!

The Kearse pick gets and A+.


I suppose if you average out the grades it is somewhere between B+ and A overall.

But I am not really grading this draft. I am just reviewing it. I think it is a very fine draft and the grades can be thrown in the garbage or wherever you want.

I do not attempt to give final roster predictions (I did once or twice before) because that is just something that none of us could possibly have any clue. I suppose it is fun but not for me.

One thing also cannot do is put any of the rookies automatically into the starting lineup. I am hoping that the Vikings will make everyone compete for their position. I will say that Treadwell probably has the best chance to play a lot of snaps.

It is going to be an exciting season!

http://www.dailynorseman.com/2016/5/2/11573020/vikings-2016-draft-review-with-2017-mock

Not Viking related but it's fun that any NFL team has fans getting really pumped about a FB drafted to their team. Andy Janovich was very popular here at Nebraska but it's great that Denver Bronco's fans are catching Jano Fever down there after Elway's tweet about drafting him. Janovich is one of those local walk on to NFL guys that I really enjoy about Nebraska Football's tradition.

I liked Treadwell, Alexander, Brothers, Weatherly, Morgan, and Kearse. Trade was great too.

I wanted Andrew Billings instead of Beavers.

Not sold on the German kid.

monsterpile wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:What I am hearing about Alexander really impresses me.

He is easily my favorite player we drafted although I didn't even know he existed before we got him.

I watched a couple Clemson games this year and wasn't familiar with him either...kind of hard to notice him when they never throw the ball his way! I think you guys will like him even better after reading this Strib article about him. His parents were (are) migrant workers, and he was often in the fields with them. If you've ever driven through Immokalee, you'd know how difficult his childhood was...it's an eerie, scary place.
http://www.startribune.com/vikings-draft-pick-alexander-and-family-no-strangers-to-hard-work/378527805/

I like the draft overall, although even though it was a fun pick, we likely threw away our 6th pick on the German. Apparently he was not very good first day of rookie camp...terrible routes and dropped a lot of balls. Maybe he'll surprise us though.

bleedspeed177 wrote:I liked Treadwell, Alexander, Brothers, Weatherly, Morgan, and Kearse. Trade was great too.

I wanted Andrew Billings instead of Beavers.

Not sold on the German kid.

Beavers seems like a nice enough talent but after initially being excited there are some flaws. The Vikings have been a mixed bag when it comes to young lineman but Sparono may change that somewhat so I'll trust them a little more.

Moritz at the very least is a fun story to pay attention to. He seems very likeable and he isn't stupid he was an engineering student...from Germany. Lol I watched some video of him at mini camp and of him doing some of his workouts. The dude seems like a natural hands catcher and he doesn't look like a sub 4.5 40 guy he looks more like a Undersized TE. Basically he is a beast athlete sort of like another big fast WR on the team CP. Because they drafted him and His favorite player is AP and therefore his favorite team is the Vikings I would think if he isn't ready for this roster he will stick on the PS. I'll be curious to see if they try him as a returner. It's a boom or bust pick in the 6th round. Tough to complain about that I guess especially with the entertainment value it brings. It seems he is a long shot to figure it out he has a steeper learning curve than some other guys like even a Joe Webb who at least played the position at a major college for a year. I honestly don't see how he makes the roster of all the other WRs are healthy but that can change.

Outside the story he created I don't see him having huge upside.

Compare him to Cody Core who was Treadwells teammate. Not that much more talent in my eyes, but if he hand catches and can bring down the ball everything else is trivial.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/cody-core?id=2555331
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/moritz-boehringer?id=2556261

Jack is a short-term play which is why I was fine passing up on him for Treadwell. This is the draft after all. If it works out ideal the guy you draft is a franchise lifer and Jack is a couple years away from likely career destroying micro fracture surgery. That's a disaster waiting to happen if he lands a big deal before his knee is done. You rarely can afford to miss on 1st round picks and we already have questions like CP84 and Waynes. We didn't need a 3rd linebacker in a league going more and more towards the nickel. 1st round picks should fill major holes, not be major luxuries.

bleedspeed177 wrote:Outside the story he created I don't see him having huge upside.

Compare him to Cody Core who was Treadwells teammate. Not that much more talent in my eyes, but if he hand catches and can bring down the ball everything else is trivial.
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/cody-core?id=2555331
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2016/profiles/moritz-boehringer?id=2556261

Without knowing anything about Core beyond that draft profile (which means I know about as much as Moritz lol) it seems Moritz has a more unique/dynamic or something athletic profile since he is 20lbs more and about the same or better athletically than Core. Obviously the difference is that Core has been playing football for years so that helps his cause. Of course if the guy isn't really that great at catching well...that's probably why he wasn't thought highly of. Football folks may have felt like Moritz had upside with what they saw. How much upside? Idk he was a 6th round pick and this team didn't really have a spot for any WR after selecting Treadwell and there wasn't many spots available going into the draft to begin with including LB which is gonna be a heck of a fight for those spots and that's without Jack who was the only guy that sounded interesting when they picked Treadwell. I sound like I am really I love with Moritz I am not but there is some intrigue about him.

IF you want to put a positive spin on his inexperience you can look to the inexperienced guys that have made it as pass catching TEs. A guy like Jimmy graham turned into one of the most dynamic pass catchers in the entire league and he played one year of college ball at Miami. Obviously that's more legit experience than Moritz has but I'm not looking for him to become a HOF player either to be a success. Some guys that have little experience have special athletic gifts and something clicks and it works. Most don't. My only point is to not completely dismiss the guy but if I was gonna put money on it I think the guy will be on the PS. Ultimately ai am just gonna enjoy the ride of Moritz mania. Lol