r/minnesotavikings

Take a breath. This was the right call. Here’s why:

It’s a weaker draft in general. The premiere OT/CB/DE/QBs? Mostly gone by 18.

The only R1 TE? Gone.

The best IOL? Gone.

We were left with our pick of the DTs, a WR, or Safety. DT was our biggest need by far, and frankly it’s a much deeper pool of prospects at S and WR compared to DT.

The R1-2 DTs are Banks, McDonald, Woods, Miller, and Hunter. I think all of those except maybe Hunter are gone by 49. Banks has the best physical tools, and is right up there for best pass rush. I’ve said several times that he’s the best DT in the class if healthy and would arguably be a top 10-15 pick. It’s also looking like a weaker DT draft next year. If we wanted an elite guy to impact the interior, we needed to take a risk. The only risks worth taking for DT for me were betting that either Banks can be healthy or McDonald can develop more pass rush.

If Banks was their guy, there’s no point waiting or trading down. A bunch of teams after us could have been in the DT market. Panthers, Cowboys, Bears, Chiefs, Patriots all were maybes.

Banks plus a R2-3 WR/S/LB/OL adds more overall talent than taking Thieneman or Lemon and a second tier DT like big citrus, Darrell Jackson, Halton, etc.

Speculation is high. Honestly wouldn’t be mad. Shed some salary and get extra picks. Thoughts??

Listen, no one is excited about our new 300+ lb freak of nature DT having recurring foot injuries and surgeries. But apparently the injury he sustained and the surgical repair he had is super common in football, and has a high likelihood of bouncing back if the player heals properly and doesn’t return too early. Demarcus Lawrence, for example, had 2 surgeries early in his career and still went on to be a pro bowler with a long solid career. Julio Jones is another example.

If this works out… it could be a pick we look back at and say, “no shyt he was a first rounder…”

(14) Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee

(23) Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo

(26) Denzel Boston, WR, Washington

(27) Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson

(30) Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee

(31) TJ Parker, Edge, Clemson

(32) Kayden McDonald, DT Ohio State

(34) Chase Bisontis, G, Texas A&M

(37) Zion Young, Edge, Missouri

(38) De'Angelo Ponds, CB, Indiana

(39) Cashius Howell, Edge, Texas A&M

(40) Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech

I haven’t been a fan on drafting an LB high through this whole process, but dude will be great then a r3 safety/center combo would make me like this draft more than I thought I would after last night

Having had a bit of time to think about it, I think I can understand a bit where the front office was coming from when picking Caleb Banks.

PROS

1. INJURY - The Vikings front office knows way more about his injuries than I ever could, so maybe they took a long hard look at it and are confident it won’t be a recurring problem.

2. POTENTIAL - Based on some of the flashes he showed at Florida and his insane athletic measurements (see Bill Parcells’ Planet Theory), Banks has the ceiling of being one of the top DTs in football. Especially in a draft as wide open as this, I can easily see him being DT1 on the Vikings’ big board.

3. VALUE - Thieneman aside, I don’t think the board panned out particularly well for the Vikings, and most picks would’ve been a reach (unfortunately I don’t think receiver was ever really in play). So I think the Vikings looked at the board and saw that in the second round, the DTs really falls off a cliff after Christen Miller (who’ll likely be gone before pick 50), whereas there’s a good deal of value available at Safety, Cornerback, and Linebacker in the middle of the second round. So they chose to go with the more scarce position in the first (addressing a major need), then try to pick up value in the second round.

CONS

1. INJURY - Yeah I know I said they know more about his injury than me, but man taking a 300+ pound DT whose had multiple foot injuries in the last year makes me really nervous

2. DEVELOPMENT - I don’t think his timeline matches well with the Vikings - he’s a raw athlete who may need some time to develop, similar to Dallas Turner, but the Vikings seem to be in a “Win Now” mode. Also, there’s no guarantee that he actually develops into the player his potential says he could be, and in that case the floor there is relatively low.

3. OPPORTUNITY COST - Unfortunately this feels like 2022 all over again, trying to get too cute and extract a bit of extra value when you could’ve just sat and taken the best player on the board (Thieneman). At least this time they didn’t trade back for a bad haul and take a worse player at the same position they were looking at originally?

Overall, I can see where they were coming from with the pick, and don’t think the process is as bad as 2022. There are also several picks the Vikings could make on day 2 that help make this look a bit better. However, I still don’t think this was a great choice.

Grade: a high C+ that I’m refusing to round up to a B-

Banks is going to be a stud since everyone is whining over him. All y’all want to do is be miserable and complain. I get it, fandom of the purple is historically miserable but ffs