ESPN recently broke down their list of draft steals by round and Minnesota Vikings 7th round pick Stacy Coley was mentioned as a great bargain for the team.
The NFL Draft is a huge gamble. Teams like the Minnesota Vikings take chances on players throughout the draft hoping that they will be able to help achieve the franchise goal of winning a Super Bowl.
Not all of those picks pan out, but there is some level of excitement when a player drafted in the late rounds turns out to be an absolute gem. The Vikings have found success with several late round picks in the past, and they may have found another.
According to a recent article behind the ESPN INSIDER paywall, Minnesota may have gotten a great bargain in round 7 of the 2017 NFL Draft when they took Miami (FL) wide receiver Stacy Coley at #219 overall.
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Here is what was included in the article:
"“A longtime evaluator with experience as a GM said he thought there was a good chance Coley would become a starter in the NFL. Other voters weren’t as excited. As one of the dissenters pointed out, evaluations on receivers frequently vary more than for players at other positions.‘I see him as your fourth or fifth guy, a special-teamer who is going to make your roster,” one of the evaluators said of Coley.’Even that would be good value for a seventh-round wideout.”"
Minnesota has had luck with wide receivers outside of the first 2 days of the NFL Draft. Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, and Jarius Wright were all 4th round draft picks or later by the Vikings and each have either worked into starting roles for the team or provided exciting moments for fans.
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Of course, time will tell if Coley can be a regular contributor for the team, but knowing that experts have evaluated him to see this kind of potential is a good sign that the Minnesota Vikings definitely did their research on draft day. (Hat tip to The Daily Norseman for the story)