Draft night
Thursday night finally came and as I headed to US Bank tried to keep telling
myself do not allow yourself to be disappointed if an Offensive lineman was not
taken with the 18th pick.
One thing I
love about draft parties is listening to Paul Allen, Pete Bercich, Ben Leber
and Paul Charchian discuss the draft and occasionally bring a Vikings player up
on stage and interview. There is a huge TV screen behind them so I can watch
the draft as well as listen to the guys on stage.
Arizona was
on the clock to start as you know and when the pick of Kylar Murray was
announced it brought a huge cheer from the fans in attendance. I know that pick
was historical as that makes two years in a row where a Oklahoma quarterback
was taken with the first pick and both men were Heisman Trophy winners. I along
with other fans were wondering about last year’s Cardinal’s pick at # 8, Josh
Rosen? What a story line.
The next
picks were going and as each one passed I kept thinking the Vikes have a shot
at a decent to great Offensive Lineman. The amount of defensive players going
was great to see with the exception of the surprise of the first round with
Daniel Jones going 6 to New York Giants. I had seen mock drafts that sighted
this but when it really happened I could not help but shake my head in
disbelief.
I did enjoy
the Green Bay pick at # 12, Rashan Gary out of Michigan because as the screen
showed Gary crying in happiness the Vikings Pete Bercich said he would cry also
if he was picked by the Packers. It is always good to have some humor in this
event.
The next
pick at # 13 by Miami Dolphins, Christian Wilkins came out on the stage in
Nashville jumping through the air and the face of fear and unknown by Commissioner
Goodell was priceless.
The players
continued to be pick and I was feeling better and better about getting a need
and then I see Atlanta take Chris Lindstrom, guard and I thought oh no this is
a guy that would fit the need.
The sage
continuers and finally at # 18 the crowd arises all as one to hear Commissioner
Goodell announce the pick, and yes it was Garrett Bradbuy center from North
Carolina State and with that announcement the crowd as loud as I have heard in
years. My heart was beating so fast with excitement saying to myself Thank you
Vikings for not letting me down. I have been to 15 or so Draft parties so
believe me I have heard my share of unhappiness by way of booing along with a
few unmentionable words.
US Bank was
rocking with so many happy fans as I looked around. My wife and I did take a
your of the locker room and then headed back to Owatonna on a high. It’s a
great high yet bad when you get home and have to try and sleep as I needed to
be to work the next morning, It is so worth the tiredness!!!!
Friday and
Saturday I watched well over 12 hours of the draft which puts me in heaven. The
Vikes came into the draft with 8 picks but after Friday they made trades and
Saturday we would have 9 picks making it for a total of 12 which is the most since
1991 when there were 12 rounds.
The two
picks Friday with 2nd round, Irv Smith Jr. Tight End out of Alabama I absolutely loved
as he was a name I was very familiar with and know he comes from a winning
program so he knows what it takes. I will admit the first two picks I knew of
but after that all other names drafted I googled and read twitter to get info
on these players,
The last
pick of the night Running back out of Boise State, Alexander Mattison I believe
was a need for competition especially with the loss of Latavius Murray to the
New Orleans Saints by way of Free Agency.
Saturday
stared out with the Vikings taking a guard out of Oklahoma, Dru Samia who all
he is done is block for the past two Heisman Trophy winners. The drafting of a
guard makes the first four picks all on the offensive side of the ball. The
last time the Vikes started the draft with offensive picks was 1991. It has
been thought that in the War room Coach Zimmer gets his defensive person but in
this case it was different and I believe it stems from last year with Coach
publicly saying he wants to run the ball more,
Saturday was
a busy day and I saw the Vikes do a great job of drafting need in hopes of
depth as they drafted 9 total players including three picks in the 6th
and three players in the 7th round including the last of the 7th
a long snapper out of Air Force Academy.
The NFL
draft saw a record breaking 40 trades and also saw two kickers taken from the
same school, University of Utah. The last time this happened was 1985 when two
kickers from the same school were drafted,
I could not
be happier to see all these guys added and believe me I will be doing a lot of
reading and watching videos to see why
the Vikes thought so much of these players to draft them.
The three day
draft I saw so many things I enjoyed as far as TV watching on NFL Network
especially the last two days seeing picks made from different parts of the
country and even in Mexico. It was so awesome to see kids involved and maybe
the best was the Baltimore Ravens young man who was blind and became the first
person ever to announce the pick by way of a brail card.
I loved
former Colts punter, Pat McAfee and his humor as he announced the 93rd
pick as well as other former players taking their turns announcing for their
respective teams.
I loved
seeing Carl Eller, Steve Jordan and even Sid Hartman announcing the Viking
picks. I had no idea what Nashville would be like but now that it’s over I
pointlessly say I wish I would have gone and been part of the 200,000 fans.
Overall I
loved the Vikes draft and can’t wait to see the plan for each player starting
with minicamp and onto Vikings Training Camp in Eagan.
Thank you
for reading
Purplestick
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