Minnesota Vikings 2017 NFL draft recap with grades and analysis
By Jordan Reid
"With the 232nd overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings select Elijah Lee, linebacker, Kansas State."
Long-time Minnesota Vikings veteran linebacker Chad Greenway hung up his cleats after 11 memorable seasons with team. In his absence, the Vikings are in desperate need of help at outside linebacker. With the NFL becoming more of a passing league over the past 10 years, linebackers now need to be fluid in pass coverage as well as be stout against the run.
Former Kansas State Elijah Lee was one of my favorite outside linebackers of this entire draft class. His production was off the charts, recording 209 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, and five interceptions.
His pass coverage skills are very good. Lee always looks comfortable when out in space, and he has an innate ability to diagnose route patterns around him.
A rare trait for a linebacker, it is hard to find some who are comfortable when defending the pass.
Where Lee struggles is against the run. He is tall and lanky (6-foot-3, 232 pounds), and doesn’t possess a lot of girth on his body. This lack of mass is evident as he struggles greatly to shed offensive lineman once they are able to get hands on him.
The good factor about this though is that at outside LB, he won’t be forced to play inside the box where blockers will mainly be. At outside LB, he will be primarily in space, where he thrives and can show his sideline-to-sideline range.
Getting Lee in the seventh-round was an absolute steal and I’m unsure why he nearly went undrafted. He’s on record as saying “the Vikings showed the most interest in me”, and it is an ideal match as the team has a huge void at outside LB.
The competition is now between Lee, Emmanuel Lamur and Edmund Robinson, who all have the potential to be contributors.