Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - How did draft analysts grade the Vikings draft? (Hour 1)

Episode Date: April 29, 2025

Matthew Coller and Intern Clay breakdown how draft analysts graded Minnesota's draft.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, everybody, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Coller here. And look at us. Deep breath. The Minnesota Vikings draft is over. The NFL draft is completed. And now we have a look at all the NFL teams as their rosters are going to be in the twenty twenty 2025 NFL season.

So that's pretty exciting. Also, we are slated to hear from JJ McCarthy tomorrow out of TCO Performance Center. So keep an eye out for that reaction podcast for myself and Dane Mizzetani tomorrow. That will be exciting, but it would not be a draft season unless we sought out what other people were saying about the Vikings picks and What types of grades they were giving them now? Let me say this about draft grades No, they don't really matter. No, they will not determine the fate of Your team's draft if you are disliked then that's probably got the same odds as being liked by the draft analysis world.

I mean, this is a community that doesn't always hit the nail on the head. Maybe the most famous incident was draft analysts absolutely despising the Seattle Seahawks picking Russell Wilson, for example, like there have been lots and lots and lots of historical times where the analysts have either loved or could not stand a draft and it blew up in their face even the 2022 draft if you go and you Google 2022 draft grades There's a lot of analysts that really loved what the Vikings did So you never really know how it is going to turn out until we get a couple of years in the rear view. But here is the thing.

What fun would that be if we waited three years? Oh, let's go back and look at all the draft grades from 2019 and we'll decide what they thought of us. I mean, that's not any fun. So it's kind of like we all want to know what everybody else thinks of what happened for the Minnesota Vikings. So I have given intern Clay the homework assignment to bring me the draft grades. Yes, I could have done it myself, but why have an intern if I'm going to do all the work

myself? So I'm going to bring in intern Clay here. He has been working hard all day, day and night. You can see the sweat pouring down his face trying to gather as many draft grades as he possibly could. So what you're gonna do here, Clay, is you're gonna present me with some draft grades, who said it, what they thought, and then we're gonna go over whether we agree or disagree with the great

So first of all good evening to you, sir. Have you recovered from there were some long days there with the draft? Yeah, I'm good. It was a lot to take you in and kind of process but it's cool It's what we work for it was the Christmas of the football offseason So it was a lot of fun when they weren't talking about Cheddar Sanders. It was a lot of fun. The four or five seconds in between was was a great time. So I don't know where you want to begin with whose draft grades you want to start with, but throw one at me.

Yep. I'll start with Dane Bruegler from the athletic. And he has the Vikings with the worst draft in the league. He ranked them 32 out of 32. And here's a quote from him. He said, with just five draft picks, only one in the top 100, the Vikings were destined to appear low on this list.

I saw Donovan Jackson as more of a second round player than a first rounder, but he will become a long-term starter if he can improve some of his sustain and recovery issues. Okay. I think that if you are somebody who's evaluating all 32 teams and you look at a team that has five draft picks and took a guard with the first pick,

you're not going to score all that high. It's just sort of the reality where all of us can put the Donovan Jackson pick in context and we can say, look, we understand what this could mean to the offensive line, that if Donovan Jackson is a good player for them, he doesn't even have to be a great player. He just needs to be a good player for them. Then there is a effect on everybody else. He helps Christian Derrasa be better. I mean, look, Derrasa has been dealing with just a bunch of different left guards there through the years.

How about locking in two 90th plus percentile athletes at left tackle and at left guard for a long period of time. He helps them run the ball better. One of the strongest players at his position in the draft. He helps JJ McCarthy get more clean pockets and not have a weakness that other teams can consistently attack. But if we're doing this in a vacuum, why would you give it if that's the shining star? Why would you give it an A plus?

Right? I mean, if you're a draft analyst looking at all these other team traded up and took Travis Hunter That's way sexier a team drafted the first quarterback off the board The Giants got a bunch of value with Abdul Carter and a quarterback in the first round These are the types of drafts that are going to hit harder and one thing that I've always noticed and I think is really funny is The teams that draft higher get the higher grades unless they did something really nutty. Shocking, right?

That the teams that would draft the better prospects would get the better grades. And I don't think that too much of these are going to be adjusted for how many picks or where the Vikings were picking, but it is not a surprise with how small the class was that someone like Dane Bruegler, and I'm not even saying he's wrong to do it this way. It's five people and maybe one of them

has a potential impact on the 2025 season. So that's really fair, I think, to not rank them very high. I mean, last seems aggressive. See, to me, last would be a team like the Cleveland Browns that traded out of number two to get a good defensive tackle prospect. But then with their picks running backs linebackers tight ends very bizarre positions.

What you did with your draft capital is kind of how I would look at it more than just the pure number of picks. But fair enough. Fair enough. You think that's fair to rank them as as last? I think his explanation is fair, but I don't agree with the rankings just because it's a just because it's a kind of like man, like not a big haul. And some people think they reach even though the way the board was set up. I think it was a fine pick.

Um, I feel like it's kind of, you can't put them last. There were other teams that definitely are messed up. I don't think the Vikings messed up or like picked wrong in any way. So I feel like it's a little out there to put them last, but I agree with where he's coming from. Okay. For me, the team that really had the worst draft was San Francisco, Michael Williams, they reached on then a nose tackle in the second, a linebacker in the third, a nickel corner, and then another

nose tackle before they decided to pick a wide receiver. But I mean, Brandon, I use coming off the injury. Debo Samuel is gone. They have Ricky Pierce all. But I mean, to not pick any sort of weapon. They moved on from Jordan Mason. They didn't use a pick on it. Even a running back in a great running back draft. And so they're counting on Christian McCaffrey there. How about offensive line? They didn't pick an offensive lineman until the seventh round after losing Aaron Banks and free agency.

I just didn't understand anything that the San Francisco 49ers did. I probably would have put them as being all the way at the bottom. That to me is really how I think it should be done is just did what you did with your picks make sense? And I think with the Vikings, it clearly did add another weapon in Ty Felton and then a starting guard when that position was really not great for you last year. It was a bit of a reach. It's a factual reach, which is the consensus board is what it is.

It is proven to show that reaches are more dangerous than just picking someone where they're picked with the consensus. It's a useful tool. I know for an absolute fact, teams inside NFL buildings use the consensus boards to shape some of their decisions or cross check some of their choices that they're gonna make. Like if you're gonna draft a guy third overall

and you have them on the consensus board of 23rd, that your odds of hitting on that pick are terrible just historically. And we've seen that. And everyone loves to side with the team's consensus board. What is it? No, it knows that's just the data. But from the guy being ranked 36 on the consensus board and being

picked 24th, that's not really a reach for me. I think it's when the guy is picked fifth and he's like 35th that to me is a real different kind of stretch. So, OK, let's see what's Evan, I think, asked who you would rank 32 out of 32. Did you have a team that you hated? He wants you to say the Bears. No, I didn't hate the Bears draft. They kind of made up for it for me.

But there's just no other team that stands out quite like the right word for me but there's just no other team that stands out quite like the Browns to me. I just cannot wrap my head around drafting Dylan Gabriel first and then swing him back around for Shidori. It just every way about it, it just

doesn't make sense to me and I just I which is sad because I loved the pick the trade down. Yes, Travis Hunter is a great player, perhaps generational, but they're not in position to win anytime soon. So I like them building for the future and getting a guy like Mason Graham, who is a baller too. So I don't know. They confused me. Those were probably the ones that stuck out the most. Maybe we can, maybe you'll have a take on this later. My favorite draft of anyone was really just because it's the most fun.

And if I was doing mad and I would draft just like this, the Raiders, they draft the best running back, then Jack Bash wide receiver, the freakish corner, they get a couple of offensive linemen and then a just insane freak wide receiver with his speed and size and two of the most fun names and fun players at defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway and JJ Puguis who also plays linebacker or I'm sorry plays running back sometimes and then

they took FCS quarterbacks it was hilarious that they honestly drafted like someone who was 13 years old and it was their first draft they were just like draft the fun players who are crazy and fast. That was the Raiders for me. Well, let's move on to another grade. Folks, I'm trying a new thing to try to stop going to fast food restaurants

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That is temple meals.com slash purple insider. 60% off your first box. Temple meals.com slash purple insider. Rules and restrictions apply. Yep. So next up, Mel Kiper gave them a B minus. And he said, Adolfo Mensa did what he could with the team's limited picks. But I wanted to see the Vikings snag an impact corner who could thrive in

Brian Flores aggressive system. Yeah. So here's the tough part about that. I think that's a very fair criticism from a guy that probably had the worst weekend of anybody during the draft. And that's with all respect to, to Mel and his career, but I mean, my goodness. And you know, as someone who routinely turns on a camera and rants, I get it. I get having rants and you get amped up and you feel passionate about something.

But that rant should not last for three whole entire days. That, I think, was my criticism for that. If you want to make that rant, do it when it gets picked, not after every single pick. But anyhow, I think this particular take from Mel Kuyper is very even handed. It's just when you go through where they were picking, this is the problem. You have to find the corners who we're talking about that they should have picked like, yes, it would have been nice for them

to get an impact corner, but I don't really want to give up the guard when I feel like their cornerback room is OK. So then we get to the the very end of the third and let's go to the fourth round. Just going to scroll through this. Where is the first corner taken in the fourth round? I mean, I'm not even seeing it until Quincy Riley at pick 131. Well, the Vikings had the had had picked at the back end of the third, so they would have had to have taken a player that went way, way, way later at almost the end of the next round at the corner position. That was the next player who was taken. So that's not really great value. And then the next time they pick is at the top of the fifth.

And even then, if I look at the corners, there was one from UCF Mac McWilliams who I don't recognize that was taken shortly after. Jason Marshall Jr. never heard of him. These do not sound like inspiring cornerback picks who are going to have any type of immediate impact so it's very easy to say well they should have just picked a corner but they would have had to have not drafted Donovan Jackson. Now, there is another world where they trade down and take Trey Amos, which according to the broadcast, he's the next Patrick Sertan. That was another thing that was unhinged about the broadcast. I think it was maybe Melikai Starks or Nicky Mowaray when they were drafted.

They're like, you know, he's a combination of Derwin James and Kyle Hamilton. I like it. He's like, then he's Ed Reed. I mean, what are we talking about here? He's not a second round pick if he's a combination of those guys. But anyway, the Chedur is Tom Brady. That was off the rails with those comparisons throughout the entire draft time. But unless they wanted to trade back and take Trey Amos or another one of those corners, there wasn't great opportunity to do that.

So it's it's fair, but you also have to kind of use your hands and point to me where they were supposed to take those corners. Yeah, it's fair. And I agree with the right. I think I would give them a B minus for their draft as well. I think I would give them a B- for their draft as well. And I do agree that corner on the Vikings does scare me. That's the one group for their team where they look solid, but I don't know how good they're going to be in man. That's my biggest concern. And I know Brian Flores is very flexible,

and he shows a lot of different looks. So he could kind of take the pressure off of them. But I don't know. It would have been nicer than to get a quarter but again it's hard the way the draft board fell and the way the players were picked it didn't happen. So I agree with their grade but fair critique. So here's another question as we try to grade it and I always struggle with this. The reason I'm wearing a nice shirt is because I was out at TCO Performance Center recording something with Tatum Everett and the Vikings entertainment that they'll put on their YouTube at some point. And the first question to me was, what is their draft grade?

And I'm like, well, now this deserves an entire explanation because I love analytics and by the analytics, I'm not sure that we would have called it a great draft because they didn't acquire more draft capital and et cetera, et cetera. However, there's a lot of great picks. It's like a really rambling answer. And then here's something else we have to consider too

as we try to grade the draft. How much is it worth to get a 24 year old backup quarterback who might have the potential to play for you if JJ McCarthy gets banged up over any period of time if you were to draft a quarterback with Sam Howell's potential and His age in the fourth or fifth round. I think people would say oh, that's a pretty good pick I mean, that's where you get your backup quarterbacks and Here's the thing too about backup quarterback. It's expensive these days.

You got to pay $10 million or more. What did Daniel Jones get 14 or something? I mean, you got to pay a lot for backup quarterbacks these days. And if Sam Howell is extremely cheap to start off with and he's not even 25. So there's development there still to go. Like that's a pretty good pickup for giving up very little.

So I do think that that deserves to be within this draft grade. Although I don't know how many of these analysts would have done it. So who is our next analyst? So next we have Rob Rang from Fox Sports and he gave them a C and his quote. He said, given the highly aggressive moves GM quasi Adolfo Mensa made in free agency at the Minnesota, the Minnesota's decision to stand pat and select Ohio State's blocker, Donovan Jackson is roughly the equivalent of walking past a litany of your favorite restaurants only to go home and make yourself

a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I'm going to have to as someone who routinely botches metaphors here on the show, I'm going to have to think about that one. Okay, so how about let's let's talk about this one in this way. Donovan Jackson, I think we could all admit Donovan Jackson is not the most exciting draft pick. And is that what he's getting at is they did so many exciting things and then they just went with something really bland or blah in the draft, which, okay, I get what he's saying that

there's there's no controversy here. There's no debating a first round guard who's meant to really solidify an offensive line that they invested a ton in over the offseason. I get that and as writers, I'm sure everyone who's doing their draft grades, they did the Vikings draft in about a second and a half because it's like, well, there's five picks, okay, whatever, just put something down for these guys because they picked a guard. Like, that's not what's moving the needle in your draft article.

That's for sure. But I also think that, you know, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich or whatever might actually end up being pretty important to what they do. So let's talk about it this way. Then who would have been the wow, exciting pick where they were at? Would that have been? I actually think the most exciting thing they could have done would have been

if Atlanta offered them that trade. That would have been the whoa, this is crazy. They're moving all the way back. And I will say if they got that offer, they should have taken it. I think even I like Donovan Jackson a lot, but that would be a very hard offer for me to turn down. I don't know that there's another player though, that if they took clearly Luther Burden, I don't think that was ever on the table. I'm not sure.

I mean, Malachi Starks. Does that move the needle a ton more? If I really don't know, I'm looking at the next picks. Swessinger, Jaden Higgins, which of course would have been very exciting for a wide receiver. Iman Warre, a running back. Trevion Henderson, that would have been fun, but he's not going to play, so that doesn't help that much.

Luther Burden, really. But I'm looking at all the guys who are on the board. I guess even worry, even where I would have been it because he was an absolute freak athletically and potentially a really fun player. But even safety is not the most exciting position. No, and it's not. It's a position of need next year, maybe the year after but right now he's

not gonna come in unless he's just way better than Theo Jackson, but he's not gonna just come in and take over on this team. And also I think we're disrespecting the peanut butter jelly sandwich like the PB and J's a staple in the game. It's a plug and play type of snack. So I don't think it's bad to be a peanut butter jelly sandwich, especially at left guard, like you don't need to do anything flashy. You're just in there doing the tough work.

And I think Donovan Jackson will be fine. So I think it's a little harsh, uh, just cause it was a boring pick. Okay. So this is an interesting thought from, uh, Matt there, the Falcons trade would have been awesome, but didn't like the players at 46. So now I didn't look at this at 46 and I will just repeat that we don't know if they got that offer. I am not criticizing them for not taking an offer they might not have gotten, but it's

just a thought experiment at 46. So Will Johnson was the next player taken. Clearly an injury issue, but also the upside is super high there. Arianti Ersei is a tackle more likely than not. If they saw him as a guard, that would have been interesting. Nick Skorton, an edge rusher, I really like, but they didn't need that. Benjamin Morrison is really the guy. Okay. There's two guys they could have taken there that stand way out. And that is Benjamin Morrison, the cornerback from Notre Dame and Tate's two guys they could have taken there that stand way out, and that is Benjamin Morrison, the cornerback from Notre Dame, and Tate Ratledge.

They could have got a guard. Also, Trey Amos was on the board. So they, okay, so here's the thing to kind of watch. Like, if Tate Ratledge, who was picked by a team that kind of knows offensive linemen, if he turns out to be close, and that would have been the guy you would have been taking and get a first round pick.

That's probably better because the evaluation I don't think is crazy far off between Jackson and Tate Rattlage. Maybe they didn't know. But if that's the offer they got, it's really just a philosophical type of thing. And yeah, the Rams. Yeah, right. The Rams threw in one on one. So the Vikings would have had to give up 97.

You're still getting a first round pick for next year. It's just a lot. It's just a lot to turn down because some team goes absolutely bananas. And I think when Kwasi Adolfo-Lomensa makes that golf comparison and he says, yeah, you know, we just want to make sure that we I'll just improve it for him We got it on the fairway that we weren't trying to pull out the driver and hit it 700 yards I think that's what that refers to is that some of these trade downs They had some risk involved to it and that yeah, they probably have to give up 97 as well

to it and yeah, they probably have to give up 97 as well. That's a lot to try to give up in order to get the most possible value rather than just the player you love. So anyway, I get the entire thing and I also get why this guy sees it as some sort of sandwich, although. I don't I actually don't really fully understand that. So let's move on. Yeah, so the next one, I have Connor Rogers from NBC Sports and he gave them a C minus.

And he said, it's tough to get a strong grade without many assets. And this might end up a one player class as Donovan Jackson is a plug and play starter at guard. Ty Felton has speed, but his play strength needs to greatly improve. I'm a fan of Kobe King's thumping ability at linebacker and he should be able to contribute

on special teams as a rookie. I Mean when it comes down to a lot of people grading it simply based on how many picks they had there's not a really great way to argue with that because that's the fact of the matter the tie felt in discussion is interesting because a lot of the Draft analysts kind of said the same thing about Ty Felton, which is he's got crazy speed, yards after catch, but he probably isn't going to turn into some sort of superstar for you. And there's been a lot of receivers in the third round or the fourth round who have turned into star wide receivers and a lot who haven't. But the thing about Felton that may be a little bit missed here is when you come into the

Vikings, you are not asked to be the guy. You are asked to be part of a machine that has the best wide receiver on Earth. There is no team in the NFL that faces coverages like the Vikings do with Justin Jefferson. It's crazy to watch back on tape where you just see the entire defense shaped around one player, which has helped Jordan Addison, help Jalen Naylor. It certainly helped KJ Osborne be a really effective player for them for a couple of seasons.

There is a magnetism to him that opens up everybody else. And if you have a guy who's running sub four, four speed breaks, tackles, makes play with the football in his hands, and that guy is complimenting, potentially complementing Justin Jefferson. That's where I see more value than like, Oh, well, he's not that strong. And it's like, well, okay, does he, is he going to have to, like, I don't know, is he going to have to, is he going to get a ton of press coverage against him one on one? Like maybe I guess, is he going to get safeties over the top?

Like no. And he really scamping around says production in college equals production. The NFL, it's it correlates better than anything else. Production. We caught a lot of footballs and made a lot of plays, gained a lot of yards. So I like the context of it, probably more than some of the, you know, picking apart every single element of the guys game Yeah, I agree. I was gonna mention his production too. He had 96 catches for almost 1200 yards last year and When a guy does that with with four to speed it's and he's the third option or maybe fourth option in this offense with TJ

Hockinson it's it's it's like why not be excited about that? So I'm not mad at the pick at all. I'm, we're kind of moving towards smaller receivers anyway so I don't think it's too big of a deal. That is 100% true that the NFL and the size of the wide receivers and uh Jordan Addison's part of this, Zay Flowers' part of is Becoming pretty clear that the ways in which offensive coordinators get receivers off the line of scrimmage if your deal is well You know, he's just not gonna beat bigger press coverage because he's not that strong. Well, that might be true But also is he moving inside into the slot? Is he going in motion? This is someone where you could probably hand the ball off to if he's going in motion.

And I look at a two to at well is a really good comparison for this guy where he is undersized, super fast, maybe has some weaknesses to his game. Well, that's a 40 catch wide receiver for the Rams last year. That's the type of player that he can be. And I think they have now just a different option. Then they had before that's really valuable to me for this offense. If you were trying to draft this guy to be wide receiver one or even wide

receiver two, then I would be a lot more skeptical, but someone who could just slide in, it's kind of like if you have, I'll try a metaphor, Rob rang. How about this? If you have money, it's a lot easier to invest in property and succeed in the property market because you could put more into it and the rich get richer in that space. If you have already the richness of a Jefferson, Hawkinson and Jordan Addison, then it's a lot easier to make money with your third round wide receiver and the richness of a Jefferson, Hawkinson, and Jordan Edison, then it's a lot easier to make money with your third round wide receiver

and work around the things that he can't do and work with the things that he can do. But in a bubble, if you're just evaluating the player, now let me look at who they could have taken instead. I don't know much about the Florida wide receiver. Is it DK? I think I don't know much about him. Thornton was taken. He's the crazy fast guy right after that. Cam Scadaboo. Not really for me in this situation.

Dion Walker might've been an interesting pick here, but maybe they just didn't really love him. Same with Ty Robinson. Those are two guys that they could have taken a defensive tackle at that position rather than Felton. But as far as wide receivers go, the next few guys just did not fit for me. Arian Smith was I thought he was the definition of a guy who got like pushed around a little bit as a as a thinner wide receiver, not that productive. So I think so anyway, I don't know. They picked their guy that Keenan McCarter liked and he should be able to fit in there.

How many more, what else we got for? I have one last one and it's from PFF. And it's not really like they're giving their opinion. It's more just their statements about the players and like their strengths, but they're great for the Vikings was a C minus, but I'll just read some of their quotes. He said, with the Vikings set at tackle, oh, this is about Donovan Jackson, with the Vikings set at tackle, and signing center Ryan Kelly and free agency, Minnesota looks to protect its first round

pick from 2024 with the Ohio State Guard. Jackson graded above the 75th percentile and run blocking grade on both zone and gap schemes. He has experience at both guard and tackle to give the Vikings flexibility long term. And then for Felton, he said, Felton was a standout weapon in Maryland's offense this past season, producing career marks and receptions, yardage and PFF receiving grade. He profiled as well as a rotational deaf receiver in Kevin O'Connell's offense. Evan points out that Royals, Jalen Royals was on the board, but he didn't go until 1-33. So clearly the outside analysis world was just a little bit higher on him than the actual NFL because that's quite a bit.

So Rob is saying the DK ran also fast as far as like a four three. I mean, I don't know which one of them will become better. You're kind of just slipping a coin at that point. Like two guys that are fast and I don't know how productive he was, but neither played with the best quarterback play. I'll just take the guy that Keenan. Mccardell wants. That's fine.

It's hard to form an opinion between a bunch of wide receivers in the third and fourth round that are going to be flawed. That's the reality. That's why I lean on production and athletic traits. That's probably got the best chance to work out if someone has that combination, plus where he fits in the actual lineup, which would be someone who can, you know, catch balls underneath. What did I think of Milro being drafted by Seattle? I mean, I think it's a fine guy to take a swing at, because even in the worst case scenario, he could become like a Brad Smith or, I mean, best case scenario like Cordell Stewart,

but somebody that they can use somehow and carve out a role for, but also has the potential to grow as a quarterback. There have been other quarterbacks who were not refined throwers somehow and carve out a role for, but also has the potential to grow as a quarterback. There have been other quarterbacks who were not refined throwers or quarterbacks coming out that just had really great traits that they made something out of. That's a good swing at a quarterback, as opposed to maybe a fifth rounder who's not a good athlete and comes along with a lot of controversy. That's kind of how I feel about that one. But the point about Jackson, the one thing that held me back a little bit

from loving Jackson is the pick rather than just liking Jackson is the pick. It's probably some of that data. I mean, he is a, whether they say 75th percentile, which is good. You'd kind of prefer somebody with that athletic talent, which is 90th percentile, to be a little more dominant when he was a guard. As a tackle, it's great that he was able to survive and then ultimately thrive at left tackle toward the end of the season. But for someone with his mobility and someone with his athletic prowess,

his numbers by PFF when it came to the run blocking were just okay for the last, for at guard and a tackle. They were not, oh my gosh, he's just running over people and is this mind blowing run blocker. So I am curious to see if that shows up here or if the fact that he can work with Darasa and Ryan Kelly, that it's more of just about the unit than the individual when it comes to the run blocking.

Did you have any other ones from them on their write-ups, the PFF or just Jackson? Okay, that makes sense. Okay, so what's our conclusion about these draft grades, Clay? Yeah, it seems like a lot of people just graded them low due to the lack of picks, not really because Jackson was a big reach or anything.

So I wouldn't be too concerned over these draft grades. Okay, I think that's fair. And I think that that's true. If they had drafted 10 players and they were getting some of these grades, we would go, all right, we got to take a look here. And it's pointed out that some of the UDFAs that they got are really, I think, good pickups. And as always, they have a top UDF class that could bear fruit at some point.

And I count UDF classes. Whoever sticks, if a guy makes the rosters, UDF, to me, is part of the draft class Because he's part of draft day of day three of going out and getting those guys So Logan Brown is an interesting one Trey Stewart is interesting as well the running back and then Tyler Batty who is a Defensive end more of like a three four defensive end all those players and a couple of tight ends They got we'll just be curious to see because they always tend to go out and do a lot in UDFA. So your other homework assignment, Clay, was to give me your hottest takes from the draft. And I think people want to know that because you grew up rooting for the Bears,

what you think of their draft. On draft night, I mercilessly made fun of you and the Bears for taking a tight end who will probably average 10.2 yards per reception, like every other tight end in the NFL. But let's hear it. How many you got? How many hot takes you got?

So I have four hot takes. Let's hear, let's replace four hot draft takes. Yeah, I'll start with the Bears one set since we're on topic. And I know if you tuned into the draft show, you know that initially I did not agree with picking Colston Loveland at 10. I was confused on why they went tight end. And not only that, I was confused why it wasn't Tyler Warren. But after watching a bunch of film and reconsidering, I'm very happy with the pick. And I'm actually glad they went with Loveland over Warren.

And I think Warren is really good when the ball's in the air, making acrobatic, contested catches. And I think he's a little better of a blocker as well. And he's just dynamic with the ball in his hands, but he really struggles running routes. He doesn't gain a lot of separation. and I just don't know how much that'll translate to the next level.

And maybe it just stands out so much because Loveland runs receiver-like routes. He's very quick and gets in and out of his braids very well. And I think Ben Johnson is just going to love that, especially with the versatility. I was confused because they already had Colt Comet, but then he runs I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing.

I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing.

I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing.

I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. I think that's a good thing. And other players on the board, I would have been cool with Kenneth Grant, Walter Nolan, or maybe even Jaylen Walker. But looking back on I'm I'm OK with how things with as as long as a shamara shamar Turner turns out to be good in that D line. So I'll give you this that some of the guys after were big reaches. Michael Williams, Tyler Booker, Kenneth Grant was a little bit of a reach. Jalen Walker, I don't know how he fits in what they want to do defensively. Walter Nolan was a bit of a reach and a little risky. I don't like Shamar Stewart at all, not productive. Then Gray Zabel. So you kind of get to this other part of the board where guys were there that I did like.

Egbuka, Jade Baron, Derek Harman, which I think Melikai Starks even, but is that worth the 10th overall pick or even war? A. So I understand why they did it now a little better because we're really reacting in real time. It's just that when I look at the most targeted tight ends in the NFL and let's just say the number of guys who got at least 75 targets in the NFL last year. There are two that average more than 10.7 yards per catch. It is just not the high impact position.

It's great to have that guy. And if you have George Kittle, then it is because he averages 14 yards a catch. But the Trey McBride, the Brock Bowers even, they're just not that much different from somebody like John who Smith, just for example, John who Smith had 88 catches at 10.1 yards per reception. Everyone lost their minds over Brock Bowers. He had 112 catches at 10.7.

I mean, it's like not that big of a difference for that position. It's mostly just possession guys. So how much can Loveland really impact the Bears offense versus whoever else they would have put in when you're spending a top 10 pick? But if there was a huge drop off for them, it's fair enough. The Vikings will have to play against Loveland. And if he turns out to be great, then maybe it's Greg Olsen

all over again for the Bears, and they can eventually let him go to a team that has a lot of success. So all right. That's but that's that's fine enough. And I mean, I also think that getting Luther Burden, they got someone who does have a very high ceiling and high potential for them. Yeah. And he's another guy that I'm my only concern is that if he doesn't get the ball enough, how will he react?

That's, and I guess that's a fine concern to have coming into the, if I'm not complaining about your talent or worried about how you're going to perform on the field, I guess that's a fine thing, but there's just a lot of mouths to feed. And he already seemed like upset by the way his last year at Missouri went by getting lower targets and stuff. So I'm interested to see how he'll handle that, but he'll be able to run the slot and and be a dynamic weapon in this offense. So I'm excited to see how he plays out.

All right. What's your next hot take from the draft? So this one is my kind of just updated post draft and if see power rankings. OK, I had some movement and the first one and number one at the power rankings, I now have the Lions. I think the Lions had a solid draft by just continuing to beef up the interior on both sides. And I just think the roster is going to be extremely difficult to deal with and yes, there's concern with two new coordinators, but Under under Dan Campbell's leadership. It's hard to bet against them and the Vikings are my number two all offseason

I had them at number one and there's really not a big gap between them and the Lions in my opinion I'm just I'm worried about the cornerback group, especially in this division. It's just so it's loaded with receiver talent all throughout and it's going to put a lot of pressure on that group. So they're gonna have to step up if they want to be the top dogs in this division. Third, this was actually pretty close. Third, I'm still sticking with the Bears. The draft confused me at first. Obviously, I thought they were going to go trenches and then skills, but they kind of just reversed it.

But they got some very talented players, but I'm still worried they didn't beef up the interior enough. It's, the interior is so important always. And I just, I'm concerned, I'm concerned, especially on the defensive line. And then finally the Packers, they, they, I went back and forth. They almost got the third spot, but because Matthew Golden looks really good, he showed up for Texas against Georgia and ASU.

And I think Matt LaFleur is going to get him wide open all the time. But I just think Ben Johns is going to out duel him. And I'm a bigger believer in Caleb Williams than Jordan Love. So that's why they got fourth. The Jordan Love, Caleb Williams thing, Jordan Love, clearly a better quarterback based on what they have done so far. But if you're projecting out, it's very possible that there's that next step.

One thing that I know through history is that the first year of a quarterback starting does not tell us a whole heck of a lot about who they're going to be. And sometimes, I mean, even with a Joe Burrow, you saw some signs and some really bad signs in his first year. And then by year two, he's excellent. So we don't know what to expect from Caleb Williams. That's the wild card of the entire division, really, because I think the first three teams in the NFC North are very predictable for who they're going to be. Now, JJ McCarthy less of a wild card because of who his coaches, who is top two

wide receivers are the supporting cast around him is so strong. If we just saw Sam Darnold have that kind of success, I think it's fair to apply that just in the same way that you would with Philadelphia when Carson Wentz was there with a great offensive line of weapons and then Jalen Hurts comes in, they build the same look and the same thing with San Francisco with a different quarterback from Jimmy Garoppolo to Brock Purdy. That's more predictable than Chicago, which has a coach that's never coached before. And that's another thing about the Vikings being more

projectable is the Vikings have a coach that knows what he's doing. It is one games in the NFL and we don't know if Ben Johnson knows what he's doing or not. So there's variance in Chicago. I think they are limited by their defensive upside and with Green Bay, they are the most 10 win type of team I think in the NFL. Matt LaFleur is not going to be terrible, but Jordan Love is volatile and from week to week, I remember saying this because he had a bad first eight weeks and a good second eight weeks to start his career or whatever right split right down the middle. So everybody just assumed that the second

part was the truth and the first part was a lie. And really if we had distributed those games every other one over 16 or 17 starts, then we would have said, well, he's kind of a roller coaster. And that I think is what Jordan Love truly is, is more of a roller coaster that at the end of the year, you end up with 10 wins for him. It is the toughest division in football hands down. And Mike Clay of ESPN did his rankings of all positions and had all four teams in the top 10 in terms of their talent on their roster, total talent across their roster. So it is going to be a wild, wild division.

But I mean, I don't disagree with keeping the Lions at the top because their quarterback is much more proven than JJ McCarthy and their roster is totally stacked after what they've done this offseason. Aiden Hutchinson coming back is like winning a new player. So yeah, I mean, I think that those are fair. I'd probably have Green Bay ahead of Chicago, but I would not be shocked in the least if it turned out the opposite way. And if the worst team in the division had eight for this year, I could see that as well. All right, hot take number three. Yep, so this is my sleeper pick of the draft.

I looked deep in the late rounds to find one guy that I really like. And if I had to bet my money on this guy to succeed, I'm going with Torrey Holtland, the fifth round pick for the Seattle Seahawks. He had a season ending knee injury this last year, which is I think why he fell so far. But before that, he had back to back a thousand yard seasons. He had 27 touchdowns in 50 games and he was a great vertical threat, which is exactly what the Seahawks need now that

DK is in Pittsburgh. And it's, you could call me crazy, but just the way he moves in his fluidity, it's just visually, it's a lot like Garrett Wilson and Romo Dunsaid, just how kind of shifty and kind of wiggly they are. And he's just a natural receiver. He has natural hands. It seems easy plucking the ball of the air for him. So I could definitely see him being one of those guys that people look past due to the injury history, but he kind of steps up and reminds people who he is. So that's an interesting pick at Horton.

That's funny. I remember the one time that I watched him, which was because Colorado was on TV nonstop for the last two years and then nonstop for three days during the draft. But because they were always on TV, I was watching him play against Colorado and had a great game. And he was somebody that I actually drafts him to the Vikings a number of times because I felt the same way that he was a really natural wide receiver. That is a pick that you could see. I mean, I'm always for just keep picking wide receivers because you never really know which one of them is going to fit in offense. But who did they get overall? I'm curious.

I know the Jalen Millrow. I'm going to take a look at Seattle because I didn't focus a lot on their draft around Sam Darnold, who, you know, we will be watching to see how it plays out. Gray Zabel is a good pick for them. Oh, gosh, they did well. They did really well. They picked a bunch of guys that we liked going into this.

Zabel, Imanwari, Arroyo, the tight end, who's going to be just as good as Loveland. Jalen Milro is just kind of a wild one. But Riley Mills, the defensive tackle from Notre Dame, productive guy. And then Horton and then even Damian Martinez, the running back in the seventh. Seattle did really well for themselves, I think, especially bolstering around Sam Darnold. It's OK. I like that pick. I guess I'm going to have to come up with one. I'm going to have to come up with because I haven't done this.

A fifth round or I'll do it as you give your next take. I'll come up with a fifth round or later player to just absolutely fall in love with and bet the money that the guy becomes great. So what's the last take? Yep. So the last one is on Abdul Carter and only 36 players have done this before, but I think he's going to be 37.

I think he's going to get 10 sacks in his rookie year. I think he's just so quick and bendy and he shows up when it matters most. He had a sack in each of their playoff games. And just look at who he gets to line up next to, Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and then even Kavon Thibodeau and newly Darius Alexander. The Giants might not have the best team, but their D line looks really good. And I think Abdul Carter will have a lot of room to operate and get after the quarterback. And I think Michael Parsons was the last person to do it.

So maybe he could keep the tradition going. It is extremely hard at that position to come in and get ten sacks. And there was only a handful of guys last year who even got ten sacks at all. Bradley, I agree that Arizona did have a good draft. I'll look at that one in a second. I'm looking at fifth rounders to decide who I love. Let's see. Since it was the most controversial round in NFL history,

I'll go I'll go Jackson Slater, who's a guard from Sacramento State, who went to the Titans. How about that? That's super random. But he was a small school guy that has amazing athletic numbers and just PFF grades through the roof, I know against lesser competition. But I remember thinking I would like that guy for the Vikings in the late rounds and he ends up going in the fifth. So I'll go with him. Super, super deep cut there. Jackson Slater. Um, what were, what were you saying? I was looking up fifth rounders. So, oh, Abdul Carter. Yeah.

I love the fit. And here's the thing about the New York Giants. So last year, I remember wanting to defend the New York Giants because they were getting roasted into the sun for letting Saquon Barkley go. And my thought was, who would that have worked for? Saquon Barkley would have averaged four and a half yards of carry. They would have won no more games because they were horrible. So what?

Maybe one or two more games and everybody wastes their time. And so they moved on from him. They keep the cap space. They accumulate a bunch of draft capital from being bad, which is what you should do if you have totally botched a Daniel Jones contract. They came away with Malik neighbors, some good producers last year.

And then this year, Abdul Carter, a potential future starting quarterback, Darius Alexander, Cam Scadaboo, Marcus Embo, who dropped, but could be a potential starting offensive guard. Alexander dropped in the draft too. Some people had him hovering around the first round. I think that their process here was really good in this draft and of course we would have all taken Abdul Carter at that position but now they've built up a pretty nasty defensive

line with Dexter Lawrence, Kavon Thbetto. And now you add him to it. I'm not saying that they're on the rise, but maybe two years from now, you could see it working out. So what's going to happen is they're going to win six games with Jamis, Winston and Russell Wilson. Everybody will get blown out. And then the next coach will inherit Malik neighbors, Abdul Carter, all these players that they've tanked for. And the next coach will look like a genius.

That's what's gonna happen. That's how it goes. Yep. That is why you tank. Okay. Well, very well done, Clay. And you did a great job on draft night as well, breaking it all down. So if you go back and watch any of our live draft coverage from then, you'll see the comparisons, best players on the board, comparison it all down. So if you go back and watch any of our live draft coverage from then,

you'll see the comparisons, best players on the board, comparison to the consensus and so forth. So I will let you run. Sure, you got some homework to do. Maybe your mom's hoping you get to bed a little earlier. So we'll do that. But no great stuff. Thank you for accumulating those draft grades. They hurt my brain. So you did the hard work today and not me and the hot takes. but no great stuff. Thank you for accumulating those draft grades. They hurt my brain.

So you did the hard work today and not me and the hot takes. So we'll talk to you soon, Clay. Yep. Thanks for having me on. All right. Intern Clay. Oh, I cut him off before he said football. Oh, well, he's not good at that anyway. So check out his article by the way,

it's still relevant of why he loves the draft. He wrote that right before the draft. Now he's working on some film stuff and a bunch of other things before his internship comes to an end in a few weeks so Intern clay doing a great job. All right. What do you guys want to talk about? I got some time There was no tornado today. That was nice or at least here I hope everybody is safe with the big storms, but Luckily, I was worried earlier today, like is my power going to go out?

Like what's going to happen? But instead there's intern Clay's mom. Thank you to your son for all of his hard work with the show. And he's doing a tremendous job here. Mrs. Clay's mom.