It's been over a week since the completion of the 2019 NFL Draft. Here's a look at the draft class of the Minnesota Vikings after a rookie mini-camp and several days of thinking about the players selected. To be honest, the rookie mini-camp had nothing to do with these thoughts.
The Vikings entered the draft with the following needs.
Offensive guard
Offensive tackle
Center
Offensive line
Defensive tackle
Offensive line
Tight end
Offensive line
Safety depth
Offensive line
Receiver depth
Offensive line
Running back depth
Offensive line
The Vikings came out of the draft with 12 new players.
Draft Picks
1. Garrett Bradbury, C, North Carolina State
2. Irv Smith Jr., TE, Alabama
3. Alexander Mattison, RB, Boise State
4. Dru Samia, OG, Oklahoma
5. Cameron Smith, LB, USC
6. Armon Watts, DT, Arkansas
6. Marcus Epps, S, Wyoming
6. Olisaemeka Udoh, OT, Elon
7. Kris Boyd, CB, Texas
7. Dillon Mitchell, WR, Oregon
7. Olabisi Johnson, WR, Colorado State
7. Austin Cutting, LS, Air Force
Offensive line
The Vikings biggest need of the offseason was, by far, improving the offensive line. So, there was no surprise when they made North Carolina State center Garrett Bradbury their first pick. Of the Vikings 12 picks, a quarter of them were offensive linemen.
Garrett Bradbury
Dru Samia
Olisaemeka Udoh
Bradbury is a day one, "plug-and-play" starter at center. At the press conferences on the opening day of the rookie mini camp, Bradbury and head coach Mike Zimmer were peppered with questions from the media as to whether the rookie would be playing center or guard. The questions were pointless. It doesn't take much thought to come to the conclusion that Bradbury will be the Vikings center. Hopefully for a very long time. Incumbent center Pat Eflein will move to left guard. It's not a matter of "if" Bradbury will be playing center. It's a matter of "when" that decision will be made and I truly believe that the decision has already been made. The Vikings signed former Tennessee Titans guard Josh Kline in free agency. It's been assumed since that signing that he will be the right guard. That's still the assumption but Dru Samia will surely compete with Kline for the job. Part of me wants Samia to win the competition simply because he's the more talented player and the future at the position. I want that future to start now but Samia has some technical aspects to his game that needs to improve. Most rookies do. Thankfully, it appears that Olisaemeka Udoh goes by Oli. It would've taken me so long to be able to confidently type his full name. Udoh might be the most intriguing player in the Vikings draft. He has the size (6'5" 325 lbs) and agility that can't be taught and the natural tools that can be developed with coaching. He has the sort of size and talent that if he'd played at a bigger school he might've been a day 2 pick simply because of his potential.
Offensive tackle was a draft need simply because improvement along the offensive line was a need. The Vikings simply needed more talent and they targeted the interior of the line in the draft. The starting tackles last year, left tackle Riley Reiff and right tackle Brian O'Neill, return. Reiff should fare better than last year with a better guard next to him. O'Neill showed promise as a rookie last year and should only improve moving forward. A week after the draft and the Vikings 2019 offensive line looks like this:
| LT |
Riley Reiff |
| LG |
Pat Elflein |
| C |
Garrett Bradbury |
| RG |
Josh Kline |
| RT |
Brian O'Neill |
Samia should be the right guard soon. Maybe after some coaching and polishing, Udoh replaces Reiff in the lineup in a year or two.
The Vikings needed better talent on the offensive line. Bradbury, Samia, and Udoh improve the talent.
Tight end
Going into the draft I expected the Vikings to address the tight end position a bit later in the draft. I expected offensive line or defensive tackle to be the positions in the second round. So, Irv Smith Jr. was a surprise. A very pleasant surprise. There were some fans and media honks that targeted Iowa's Noah Fant as the Vikings first round pick. Bradbury and Smith are a far better OL-TE combo than Fant and any lineman available in the second round. The Vikings have been looking for and failing to find a versatile tight end for the past few years. Smith will line up all over the formation and present significant match-up problems for the defense. The Vikings offense got better and more versatile with the addition of Smith.
Running back depth
Dalvin Cook is without question RB1 in the Vikings offense. When he's on the field he's been terrific. Unfortunately, injuries have forced him off the field far too often. Latavius Murray has played well in his absence but he left for the New Orleans Saints in free agency. He had to be replaced. Alexander Mattison was selected in the third round to do just that. He was very productive at Boise State. Like Murray, he's a physical, between the tackles runner. He's also a solid receiving threat. He should pair nicely with Cook.
Defensive tackle
Defensive tackle was considered a need simply because Sheldon Richardson signed with the Cleveland Browns in free agency. Shamar Stephen was brought back after a year in Seattle. He knows the Vikings defense and has a place in it. He might even be an upgrade over Richardson against the run. Unless a player grabs the position and makes it his own, it looks like the Vikings will have a committee playing defensive tackle. Stephen, Jaleel Johnson, Jalyn Holmes, Ifaedi Odenigbo, and sixth-round pick Armon Watts will compete to be a part of that committee. He really only had one productive season at Arkansas. Fortunately it was his final season. Was it a single flash? Or is he an emerging talent?
Safety depth
An injury to starter Andrew Sendejo last season led to Anthony Harris making the job his own. Sendejo signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in free agency. That left only Jayron Kearse backing up Harrison Smith and Harris and there's talk of Kearse moving to weak side linebacker. So there were as many as one and as few as zero safeties behind the starters. The Vikings found potential depth in the demise of the American Alliance of Football. Derron Smith and Jordan Taylor were signed. Smith has a real shot at a backup safety spot. Another contender was found in the sixth round of the draft when the Vikings selected Wyoming safety Marcus Epps.
Receiver depth
Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen are among the best receivers in the league. The receiving issue that often arose was when the Vikings needed a third option on key downs because the defense focused their entire coverage on Diggs and Thielen. It's been assumed that a third receiving option has to be a receiver. In reality, a third, or fourth, option could come from any position. Running back Dalvin Cook needs to have more of a role in the passing game. The tight ends have to make more of an impact. The Vikings probably found their best candidate for a third receiving option in second-round tight end Irv Smith Jr. That's great but the team still needs better production and depth behind Diggs and Thielen. It's a wide open competition for those depth positions with Laquon Treadwell, Chad Beebe, Brandon Zylstra, Jordan Taylor, Jeff Badet. Seventh-round picks Dillon Mitchell and Olabisi Johnson join that competition. Both have the sort of receiving talent that made me surprised that both were still available so late in the draft. Whenever I saw Oregon play last season Mitchell flashed often enough that he looked and felt like a possible Day 2 pick. At least one of Mitchell and Johnson has a real shot at making the roster.
Long Snapper?
The Vikings selected a long snapper with their final pick of the draft. That's not done very often so it seems like there are serious plans for Austin Cutting. Despite Kevin McDermott's presence on the roster it would seem that the only thing preventing Cutting from being the team's long snapper would be his commitment to the Air Force. The Vikings and the Air Force are reportedly negotiating his availability.
Quick summary
The Vikings decision-makers stress that their draft strategy begins and ends with "best player available." No matter how focused a team is on always selecting the best player available they have to be conscious of filling needs. The Vikings filled needs with these twelve picks. Actually, something needs to be said about that number of picks. The Vikings entered the draft with seven picks. A cascade of trades in the third round produced a boatload of picks on the third day. It also gave them the means to move up in the fourth round to select Dru Samia. Offensive line was the biggest need. They selected an immediate starter in Garrett Bradbury, an early starter in Dru Samia, and a very intriguing developmental player in Oli Udoh. The offensive line isn't fixed yet but it feels like it's finally on the right track to being fixed.
No one knows how a team did in a draft the day after, a week after, even a year after. It takes a few years. However, a week after, this draft class has the look of a pretty one. Despite not making the playoffs, the Vikings have a talented roster. Garrett Bradbury and Irv Smith Jr. are immediate starters. If something can be worked out with the Air Force, Austin Cutting is also an immediate starter. Alexander Mattison is an immediate contributor. Dru Samia should soon be an offensive line fixture. Armon Watts is a bit of mystery. If the raw Oli Udoh can make the strides that he has the potential to make, he could become a cornerstone tackle for a team that desperately needs one. Cameron Smith, Marcus Epps, and Kris Boyd are depth players that should make immediate contributions on special teams. Dillon Mitchell and Olabisi Johnson will compete at receiver. Yep, this draft has been growing on me.
