Vikings Message Board.Com

Pondering Her Percy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 01, 2021 1:40 pm
I'll close with, no I'm NOT saying Spielman doesnt make mistakes before someone jumps on and tries to twist my words around. There have been some really bone-headed moves, but in regards to this post, that chart is an absolute joke.

This represents 2017-2020. During that time the Vikings have added Cook, Jefferson and O'Neil, the only 3 players who could be considered at least average at their positions. Cook and Jefferson are the only 2 pro bowlers selected during that time, and before you rip that as a criteria, who has been drafted since 2017 who deserved a pro bowl consideration besides those two?

So two high impact guys in 4 drafts (so far) and one solid RT. The rest...I am not seeing anything special. Some nice depth guys/borderline starters like Mattison and Smith Jr, but nothing to really hang your hat on. Now, compare that TB who was #1 on that list. Godwin, Davis, Cappa, Whitehead, Wirfs, Winfield, Bunting, White all played big roles on a SB winning team on top of solid depth like Miller, Vea and Johnson. Meanwhile we got rookies playing poorly on a terrible defense and we call that winning the draft.


It has not been a good 5 years of drafting since that great 2015 draft especially when it comes to big time play makers, which is why when the 2015 guys went down, we saw the team struggle mightily. There just isn't a lot of depth there because the drafting has not been very good.

People have been clamoring for an in depth, apples to apples comparison of GM's and I think these are strong data points. It looks at strategy from two different angles and in both cases, Rick is at best average. In the second chart, he's well below average. Teams that do not fare well on the first chart, like Pittsburgh, do well on the second.

I'm sure it isn't perfect, Oakland is at the bottom but Mayock hasn't been there for 4-years. Then again, he botched the Antonio Brown trade so maybe it's justified.

I think 2017 is a good example. Was this a good draft because of Cook? Elflein was terrible, Johnson will likely be cut, Gedeon is a mediocre LB, Adams didn't make it past training camp, Isidora did nothing, as did Hodges... I mean they're all misses except Gedeon and Ifeadi who are both role players at best. 8 of 11 picks were fairly poor.

2018 he was 2 for 8 on picks.

2019 isn't looking much better unless Bradbury gets substantially better.

Rick has been riding on that 2015 draft for a while now. Truth is, he really hasn't been able to come close to replicating it since.

It's hard to have an accurate grade on GMs. To have a consistent playoff contender you need a HOF QB. It also helps if you play in a division that has no HOF QB in it. The Pats dominated the AFC east with a HOF QB and the rest of the teams looked like nothing the majority of the time because of that. We face the same problem with the fact that Rodgers is a HOF QB and we need a better player than him at that position to dominate. I don't see that player available. Many feel Wilson is that guy. Yes Wilson has been in the playoffs x number of years now. They don't face a HOF QB in that division. It's an easier run. The Rams and 49ers beat them out with far less than HOF QBs. The Rams beat them in their house with a QB they unloaded and who Rodgers pounded. I only see us getting to the show if we create a dominate defense. I'm not talking the typically Zim D I'm talking a monster. That means getting after the QB big time. All QBs struggle when they get big time pressure. It never fails. But you still need a QB that can run the offense. Not a stiff Keenum type. I don't see a GM or coach available that can take a HOF QB out of the picture. So it will be a wild card fight again. I'd like a Buddy Ryan 46 defense. That would get us there. But in the CAP world I doubt you can have that many great players on one side of the ball any more. But if the Wilfs can the whole bunch it wouldn't bother me. The next group better have a plan to jump in front of a HOF QB. I hardly and GM or HC has that.