Minnesota Vikings draft TE Bucky Hodges in the sixth round

The Minnesota Vikings continued their focus on offense in this year’s draft and added the former Virginia Tech tight end.

Seven picks into the the Minnesota Vikings 2017 draft and the team has used five of their selections to improve their roster on the offensive side of the ball.

In the sixth round, the Vikings went ahead and picked Virginia Tech tight end Bucky Hodges with the 201st overall selection. Minnesota has now drafted a tight end in each of the last three years.

At 6-foot-6, 257 pounds, Hodges could develop into a solid red zone target for the Vikings one day. He is not as skilled in the blocking aspect of his job, but his size and 4.5 speed should create plenty of mismatches in the passing game.

In three seasons at Virginia Tech, Hodges caught 133 passes for 1,747 yards and 20 touchdowns. He is thought of as a more developmental prospect, which could explain why he fell all the way to the sixth round of the draft.

He was also arrested back in 2015 for public intoxication, but getting drunk at college is not anything new for an NFL prospect.

Next: Vikings add more offense in the fifth round

With the addition of Hodges, the Vikings can now focus on moving second-year tight end David Morgan into a similar role that Rhett Ellison used to have in the offense during the past few seasons. Looking back in a few years, Hodges could very well be thought of as a late-round steal in this draft.