To this point, Minnesota’s 2023 draft class is performing much better than Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s inaugural class in 2022.
Second-year Vikings General Manager Kwesi-Adofo Mensah was under a lot of pressure to ensure Minnesota’s 2023 draft class made an immediate impact. He was coming off a very poor showing in 2022 that’s already seen the first two picks labeled as busts. There was also a lot of retooling and cutting of pricy veterans in the off-season. That opened up spots all over the field in Minnesota to be filled by younger players on rookie contracts.
It’s impossible to truly assess the long-term Vikings 2023 draft class through ten games, but it’s a fair point to check in on early contributions. This piece will be assigning an early draft grade to each drafted Vikings rookie, as well as a contributing undrafted player.
The Day-1 and 2 Picks from Minnesota’s 2023 Draft Class Have Shown Up
The first two days of the NFL draft are what sank Adofo-Mensah’s first class in 2022. First-rounder Lewis Cine and second-rounder Andrew Booth can be chalked up as busts to this point. Only late second-rounder Ed Ingram has made any sort of impact, and there’s been as much good as bad there. Looking at the impact this group has made, things are off to a better start for Minnesota’s 2023 draft class.
1st Rounder Jordan Addison: Grade A-
With the success of their predecessors, rookie first-round receivers have had their expectations heightened in recent years. That set the bar high for Addison, who was brought in to replace Vikings legend Adam Thielen’s production.
To this point, Addison has delivered a campaign that has him on pace for over 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns. To add to his degree of difficulty, he’s had to step up into injured All-World receiver Justin Jefferson’s starring role in the offense while also dealing with the loss of starting quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Minnesota can’t be anything but thrilled by how Addison has performed to this point. It’s going to be fun to watch a more comfortable Addison work opposite Justin Jefferson when the latter eventually returns.
3rd Rounder Mekhi Blackmon: Grade B-
Mekhi Blackmon played somewhat sparingly early in the season behind Byron Murphy and Akayleb Evans on the depth chart. When he’s been on the field, Blackmon has more than held his own. He’s allowing a completion percentage of 52.3% on 21 targets and has rarely blown an assignment. Blackmon is also coming off a huge performance against the Saints that saw him come away with his first interception. Blackmon may be in line for a big stretch run in an increased role.
A Rookie Quarterback and Undrafted Linebacker Highlight the Rest of Minnesota’s 2023 Draft Class
Third-day choices are much harder to get production from in the NFL. There’s normally a deficiency of some sort that causes players to remain on the board past pick 100. That said, these are the selections that the best-run teams typically can find a contributor or two from. Minnesota’s 2023 draft class features a few such players, especially when you cheat a little and include undrafted rookies.
4th Rounder Jay Ward: Grade D
Backup safety/slot corner Jay Ward has largely been used as a special teamer early on. The reason for his bad grade is that most of his contributions to the unit have led to groans. Those have been highlighted by a couple of bad offsides penalties on kicks. The biggest one led the Bucs to score a touchdown after a Ward penalty resulted in a first down. That ended up literally being the difference in their Week 1 loss. With Ward having limited opportunities to impact games, he needs to clean up the mistakes to stick around.
Jaquelin Roy and Trey McBride: Grade N/A
It didn’t seem fair to assign failing grades to a fifth-round nose tackle in Roy and seventh-round running back in McBride. Roy has been active a handful of times this season as a backup but hasn’t logged a tackle. McBride was a camp cut following a disappointing preseason. At the moment, it’s safe to assume neither will end up making an impact for Minnesota.
6th Rounder Jaren Hall: Grade B
Jaren Hall could also be ruled as an incomplete, given his limited playing time. However, he flashed real potential to be an impact backup in the NFL in that limited action. He was able to make plays in his preseason finale, despite limited talent around him. In his first NFL start against the Falcons, he was picking up yards in bunches before getting concussed. With new quarterback Josh Dobbs playing well, it remains to be seen if Hall gets more playing time. However, Minnesota has to like his chances of becoming a cheap backup option for the next few years.
Undrafted Rookie Ivan Pace: Grade A+
Ivan Pace has played so well in comparison to his draft stock, that an exception had to be made in adding him to this list. Pace made an immediate buzz in training camp, and it wasn’t long before he was listed as a starter. He surprisingly passed up 2022 third-rounder Brian Asamoah to do so. Pace has made an impact in pass coverage and as a blitzer early on. Now, with Jordan Hicks ailing, Pace will get a chance as the defense’s primary on-field play caller. For the Vikings to land a franchise linebacker without using any draft capital, this has to be considered an A+.
To this point, the overall results on draft day can tentatively be viewed as a success. That holds even more true when taking into consideration the T.J. Hockenson trade that deprived Minnesota of a second-rounder. Minnesota’s hope of continuing their midseason surge will largely depend on these rookies continuing their ascent down the stretch. The front office’s long-term outlook may very well depend on the same.
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