"Can we just flip the damn thing?"
-Vikings general manager Rick Spielman
The 2017 NFL Draft order wasn't completely set until yesterday. The Minnesota Vikings and Indianapolis Colts ended the 2016 season with identical 8-8 records. They also had an identical strength of schedule. They were tied in the eyes of the draft. The league hosted a coin flip to break that tie yesterday at the Scouting Combine. It was quite exciting. The toss was supposed to take place at noon ET. High noon. It didn't actually happen until 12:30 which is what probably prompted Spielman's query. Most people were interested in the flip in terms of how it impacted the first round. The Vikings were more interested with how it impacted the second. That was due to the fact that the Philadelphia Eagles own the Vikings first round pick. The Eagles hold the pick because of last September's trade of quarterback Sam Bradford. The Vikings won the coin flip so the Eagles actually won. The Vikings, Colts and the similarly saddled 8-8 Baltimore Ravens will rotate picks through the remaining rounds. That pick rotation will leave the Vikings with the following draft picks.
2-16-48
3-15-79
3-22-86 from Miami
4-14-121
4-22-129 from Miami
5-16-160
6-15-199
7-14-232
The extra third and fourth round picks from the Dolphins are the result of a draft day trade last year. .
The Vikings win a coin flip and they actually lose. Due to the pick rotation of the three tied teams the Vikings first pick is two picks later than if they had lost. That doesn't seem right. The team that benefited most from the Vikings winning the flip was obviously the Eagles. They held the pick that was truly riding on the coin. You could easily see the happiness in Philadelphis by the happy, leaping reaction of elf-GM Howie Roseman. Happy Howie. It was sad to see. But the draft is finally set.
No comments:
Post a Comment