Selecting players based on value vs need: Minnesota Vikings draft strategy
By Adam Carlson
The Minnesota Vikings have put together a roster full of talented players, but were the players selected based on draft value or need at a position?
The NFL Draft can be a tricky place. By now, most teams have filled some of their most important holes in free agency by signing new faces or bringing back their own talent. The Minnesota Vikings are no exception.
But there were times when the team had a glaring hole left heading into the draft. These occasions had some very mixed results when the squad used their early picks on filling holes rather than acquiring the best talent possible.
Of course, the most glaring example of a reach for positional need was Christian Ponder in the 2012 NFL Draft. While quarterback is a position that is difficult to find a long-term answer at, the faith the team put in him to be their franchise passer set the team back.
Add in other famous reaches like Troy Williamson and Chris Cook, and moderate busts in Matt Kalil or big question marks like Laquon Treadwell, and the concept of drafting for need becomes much less appealing.
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Some other reaches appear to be working out. Trae Waynes was drafted for need and appears to be developing into a solid player. Kyle Rudolph was drafted to be paired with Ponder, but outlasted the quarterback with the team and has become a top target for Sam Bradford.
On the other hand, drafting for best available talent has shown some solid results. Some later rounds brought some wonderful talent, including Danielle Hunter, Stefon Diggs, Everson Griffen and others.
In the early rounds, the results are more positive, but still mixed. For every selection of Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, and Eric Kendricks there are highly talented players who just didn’t work out, such as Percy Harvin, Scott Crichton, and Josh Robinson.
While the draft is always a gamble, the team seems to have much better recent success when drafting for talent instead of focusing on filling roster holes, but of course the best case situation is when a player of need happens to be the best draft value as well…which is rarely the case.
Next: Vikings free agency tracker
Entering the 2017 NFL Draft, experts identify the right guard position as a big need and defensive tackle as another, but just how much should the team be willing to overlook players with more potential in order to fill a need? This is one of the biggest challenges Rick Spielman will be facing with the help of his scouts and coaches during the draft.