The 2018 NFL
draft is complete and in the books and now we see how these players develop and
see if they can make the 53 man roster later in August.
I have seen
draft experts give the Vikes anywhere from an A to a C- and I have also seen
plenty of fan speak again people who either like or love the picks and I have
also heard people with their dislike. I read Sunday an article with Vikes GM,
Rick Spielman say he had fellow GM’s congratulate the team on the picks.
Does anyone
really know how these players will do? All the mock drafts and fan wants are
finally done.
I know I
wanted an Offensive lineman with the first pick and that did not happen and
instead at pick 30 the team took a cornerback.
I will admit
the entire first round players drafted in the NFL I have heard of and even some
of the 2nd but honestly the rest a very small percent I have ever
heard of.
I love
football so much and IU honestly don’t read book but when it comes to drafts I
enjoy reading bios from different sources and after reading I am excited as I
am every year to see the now 2018 Vikings draft class.
Let’s start
with Mike Hughes, first round pick 30 comes out of Central Florida and I found
he went to school there in 2017 after transferring from another school. Central
Florida ended last year undefeated and Hughes was a big part of it. Mike had 44
tackles and 4 interceptions in 2017 and he also is a talented kick returner
with 20 returns for 635 yards and 2 TD’s and punt return he had 13 for 233 and
1 TD. His big thing here is versatility and
I look for him to compete for the Nickelback and compete with Mackenzie
Alexander and Terrance Newman who is 39 still is awesome but how many more
years does he have in him?
2nd
round the team took Brian O’Neil with the 62nd pick out of
Pittsburgh University. Brian came to Pitt as a tight end and was converted to
Offensive tackle and played there the last 3 yards. O’’Neil is 6’7” and 297 and
with that comes the statement that Brian is extremely quick and athletic. O’Neil
ran the 40 in 4.82 in the combine which was the fastest amongst all O-Linemen.
Brian only allowed 1 sack in his last 2 years and can play right or left
tackle.
4th round
the team drafted out of Ohio State at pick 102, Jalyn Holmes who is 6’5” and
283 pounds. Holmes had 84 tackles of which 40 were solo, also had 5 sacks, 14
tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries. Jalyn is the 12th
Buckeye drafted by the Vikes in their history. I was really hoping for additional
depth on both lines and with O’Neil and now Holmes we have 2 more to compete.
5th
round Tyler Conklin was taken at pick 157 coming out of Central Michigan and is
6’7” and weighs 240. I loved the highlights I saw on him and his big asset id
his athleticism. The Vikes have added another tight end weapon to join Kyle
Rudolph and Davis Morgan. Conklin had 83 catches, 1159 yards and 11 TD’s in his
career. Tyler is his senior year came up huge with 35 catches, 504 yards and 5
TD’s.
5th
round saw the team trade up and take at pick 167, Kicker, Daniel Carlson who is
6’5 “ and 213. The last tall kicker I remember in purple was Steven Hauschka who
was in camp when Ryan Longwell was here.
Daniel is the highest drafted kicker by the Vikes in their history. Carlson
kicked for Auburn University had 480 career points, was 92-114 in FG and
198-198 in extra points. Carlson was a 3 time Lou Groza award finalist,2 time
SEC scoring champ, 2 time SEC first team All-conference. He was also Special team’s
player of the year in the SEC both 2016 and 2017.
The 6th
round saw Colby Gossett and was the 213 pick out of Appalachian State. Once
again the team got some more offensive line help. Gossett was called by Mel Kuiper
Jr an “under the radar gem.” He played right guard in college but played left guard
in the Senior Bowl. This man is incredibly strong as at the combine he did 32
reps of 225 pounds.
The 6th
round saw Ade Aruna at pick 218 out of Tulane University stands 6’5 and weighs
262. This man is extremely talented as he played basketball for many years including
AAU where he guarded Timberwolve, Andrew Wiggins and held him to 11 points. Ade
started playing football his senior year in high school and the off to college.
Ade has 12 sacks in his 4 years at Tulane. The combine saw him with a 38.5
vertical jump and broad jump 10’8” which is the best amongst all best defensive
linemen at the combine. Ade trained with former Vike, the great Keith Millard.
The last
draft pick came in the 7th round was Devante Downs with pick 225 out
of the University of California. Downs is 6’3”and weighs 245. He played
linebacker for the Golden Bears. Downs was hurt his Senior year but before that
had 84 tackles in his Junior year.
The
Philadelphia Eagles had depth at lines sending wave after wave of defensive lineman
and with the Vikes draft I was happy to see the team address this.
I said to
start no one truly knows the future but after reading the bios I am happy at least
on paper so only time will tell.
Thank you
for reading
Purplestick
Credit-
Vikings PR for some of the info.
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