The 2016 NFL Draft has come and gone. With that in mind, it’s time to evaluate how each team did in terms of addressing the needs on their roster. The Minnesota Vikings 2016 NFL Draft is the focus here.
The Vikings made the following picks in the draft:
Round 1, 23rd Overall: Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss
Round 2, 54th Overall: Mackensie Alexander, CB, Clemson
Round 4, 121st Overall: Willie Beavers, G, W. Michigan
Round 5, 160th Overall: Kentrell Brothers, ILB Missouri
Round 6, 180th Overall: Moritz Boehringer, WR, Germany
Round 6, 188th Overall: David Morgan, TE, Texas-San Antonio
Round 7, 227th Overall: Stephen Weatherly, OLB, Vanderbilt
Round 7, 244th Overall: Jayron Kearse, S, Clemson
Minnesota Vikings 2016 NFL Draft Review
Best Player: Laquon Treadwell
Minnesota is sound across the board in most aspects when studying their draft needs. Their key to continuing success is further enabling Teddy Bridgewater to be successful. Take away the four touchdown routing of Chicago last season and he has just ten touchdown passes. That’s fairly unacceptable in this league for a developing player—even with Adrian Peterson. They’re adding one of the best wide receivers in the class. Someone who uses their body to catch and break tackles. He gives Minnesota fantastic options for short throws that allow for downhill running, along with the stats to back his deep ball production. Treadwell can be a true number one receiver for Minnesota.
Head Scratcher: Jayron Kearse
This is not as much as a bad pick, just a question of why it was addressed so late. The Vikings need to shore up the second safety spot behind Harrison Smith, which will allow for more liberties to be taken by the Pro Bowler. You look at the selections by Minnesota and pick 160 stands out as a classic example of taking the best player available. Plenty of quality safeties were still on the board at that point. Minnesota isn’t hurting at inside linebacker either. With this being said, Kearse is a good selection for the seventh round. He has interesting size for a safety at 6’4″. he’ll be reunited with Clemson teammate Mackenzie Alexander.
The Surprise: Willie Beavers.
The Vikings run blocking is decent, good enough for Peterson. Their pass protection is the more concerning portion. The first lineman off the board for Minnesota was expected to be a tackle, not an interior lineman. Beavers has strong feet and mobility, which equates to strong pass protection skills. The Vikings did not select another lineman in the draft after Beavers.
The Steal: Moritz Boehringer.
The German sensation himself. He had 94 catches, 2,866 yards and 41 touchdowns in 19 games two years ago. Then, Boehringer played for Germany’s highest level of football and snagged 70 passes for 1,461 yards (20.9 per catch) and 16 touchdowns. Wow is right. He was invited to the FAU pro day in Florida and posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.43. He has this incredible frame and these numbers that make your eyes pop. Being an unknown entity, teams didn’t want to trust a high pick with this risky of a prospect. He played against the best competition in Germany, but how much better than a college team are they? If the players were better than collegiate athletes, they would happily go play in America. He will need to catch up to American level talent, but he has all the tools to make it here. Boehringer will be a name to watch for out of Vikings camp.
Most Likely To Turn Heads in Training Camp: Mackensie Alexander.
The corner ended his college career without an interception. He shut down smaller receivers with his physicality, but fell because of his size. The Minnesota staff is one that values coverage over big play makers per say, so it might not of scared them of his lack of size. He should be able to fill zones and cover well, more so than what is currently expected of him.
The Rest
Brothers and Weatherly provide needed depth and youth across the linebacking corp. Both are savvy, Brothers specializing in run stopping and Weatherly in pass rushing. David Morgan is a simple tight end that will mainly be focused with pass protection at 6’4” 252lbs.
The Bottom Line
When looking at the Vikings draft review, Minnesota played a safe draft, picking best available and focusing on the top needs they had in front of them. The Vikings are looking to not bring too many players in to shake things up, they have a comfortable roster situation. They needed youthful depth in certain areas, and the draft definitely provided for that role. There were players that fell down in areas of need for Minnesota (Vonn Bell looking at you), but capitalizing on it was not Minnesota’s goal. Fans would of liked to seem more of that. There weren’t any wowing picks or glamorous selections beside Treadwell. And even then, he’s more of a name than glamorous. The dude is a physical player, similar to most of their selections.
Vikings 2016 Draft Grade: 7/10 C
