Chicago Bears Draft: Grades for entire NFC North
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings had a fantastic draft. They were probably the best-drafted team in the division. They might even be the team to worry about the most. Now, they have been terrible against the Bears in recent memory but they have been pretty good against everyone else. This draft served them well in their quest to go from playoff hopefuls to championship contenders.
They still have the rest of the division to deal with if they want to get over the hump this year but they are well on their way. They made a remarkable 15 selections en route to the end of the draft. The most notable is that of wide receiver Justin Jackson. They are lucky that he fell to them in general but the fact that the Philadelphia Eagles passed on him one pick prior is very lucky for them. Kirk Cousins should be very excited to add that guy.
Their picks are as followed:
- Pick 22 – Justin Jefferson – WR
- Pick 31 – Jeff Gladney – CB
- Pick 58 – Erza Cleveland – OT
- Pick 89 – Cameran Dantzler – CB
- Pick 117 – D.J. Wonnum – DE
- Pick 130 – James Lynch – DT
- Pick 132 – Troy Dye – LB
- Pick 169 – Harrison Hand – CB
- Pick 176 – K.J. Osborn – WR
- Pick 203 – Blake Brandel – OT
- Pick 205 – Josh Metellus – S
- Pick 225 – Kenney Willekes – DE
- Pick 244 – Nate Stanley – QB
- Pick 249 – Brian Cole II – S
- Pick 253 – Kyle Hinton – OL
Now, obviously it is tough to tell if all 15 of those picks will turn out to be successful in the NFL but you certainly improve your chances of drafting some impactful players when you make a bunch of selections. That is exactly what the Vikings did and they deserve some respect for it. It is less than ideal that the rich got richer but it is what it is now.