All Things 2023 Minnesota Vikings Off-Season Thread

[BleedGopher]

Fox Sports chimes in:

23) Minnesota Vikings: Jordan Addison, WR USC

Rang: Addison may not be as big or dynamic as some of the other top receivers in this class, but he’s a significantly more polished player, winning with fluidity and savviness alike. He has the sure routes and hands to potentially became a real stat-monster in the NFL, specializing out of the slot. The greater size and physicality he’ll face at the pro level are legitimate concerns, but modern NFL rules favor slight pass-catchers like Addison. Proven effective in two different offenses against quality competition, I think he has the grit and smarts to prove a quality starter early in his pro career and should be an immediate boost to a Minnesota offense that needed to find a replacement for Adam Thielen opposite superstar Justin Jefferson.

Grade: A-

NFL Draft picks, grades and analysis: Will Levis still on board after Round 1 | FOX Sports

The 2023 NFL Draft is finally here! Here's analysis and grades on every first-round selection from draft expert Rob Rang.

www.foxsports.com

Skol Vikes!!

 

[BleedGopher]

SI chimes in:

Minnesota Vikings, Jordan Addison, WR, USC​

The run on receivers continued in Minnesota, with the Vikings taking Addison to play opposite Justin Jefferson. While the player is terrific, Minnesota had one of the league’s worst defenses in 2022 and still has ample holes. There were terrific options in edge rusher Nolan Smith and corner Deonte Banks as well. Good player, strange pick. —*M.V.*

Grade: C

https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/04/28/2023-nfl-draft-first-round-grades-panthers-texans#gid=ci02bd9949c000279b&pid=23

Skol Vikes!!

 

[BleedGopher]

Yahoo Sports chimes in:

23. Minnesota Vikings: Jordan Addison, WR, USC — Jordan Addison is the ideal No. 2 wide receiver prospect, and that's exactly what he's going to be in the NFL playing next to Justin Jefferson. In an offense that projects to throw the ball a lot, especially if the Vikings trade Dalvin Cook, Addison can be a star. Grade: B+

2023 NFL draft: First round instant grades for all 31 picks

Yahoo Sports draft expert Charles McDonald grades each first-round pick from Thursday. How did your team fare?

sports.yahoo.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[BleedGopher]

Souhan: Rather than a QB, Vikings opt for a gift to QBs

The Vikings didn't draft their future quarterback, so they helped out their current quarterback.

With the 23rd pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the Vikings chose USC receiver Jordan Addison, a polished player available to them because so many teams ahead of them made unpredictable and perhaps unwise selections.

With the Vikings on the clock, cameras showed consternation on the faces of a few team officials late, perhaps because they were contemplating trading their pick, with so much talent available late in the first round.

Minutes later, their offensive coaches were celebrating and hugging. A team with Justin Jefferson, perhaps the best receiver in the NFL, brought in Addison to give them a talented set of receivers.

The receiving depth chart: Jefferson, K.J. Osborn and Addison, with T.J. Hockenson as an excellent receiving tight end.

Addison effectively replaces the departed Adam Thielen. If the Vikings judged Addison wisely, he should be able to easily outproduce the version of Thielen that the Vikings employed the last few years.

Souhan: Rather than a quarterback, Vikings opt for a quarterback gift

Jordan Addison, the Vikings' No. 1 pick, has potential for becoming a special pairing with superstar Justin Jefferson and outperforming what the team had been getting from the departed Adam Thielen.

www.startribune.com

Skol Vikes!!

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Like the Addison pick, he’s the 2nd best WR in the draft after JSN.

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

CBS chimes in:

NFL Draft grade: A​

"He is my favorite receiver in this class. He will be a perfect complement to Justin Jefferson, He is a great route runner. Needs to get a little bigger since he weighs 175 pounds, but that will happen." -- Pete Prisco

2023 NFL Draft grades: Vikings pick Jordan Addison at No. 23, add ideal WR to complement Justin Jefferson

Everything you need to know about Minnesota's new wide receiver

www.cbssports.com

Skol Vikes!!

175? Yikes

 

[JimmyJamesMD]

Fox Sports chimes in:

23) Minnesota Vikings: Jordan Addison, WR USC

Rang: Addison may not be as big or dynamic as some of the other top receivers in this class, but he’s a significantly more polished player, winning with fluidity and savviness alike. He has the sure routes and hands to potentially became a real stat-monster in the NFL, specializing out of the slot. The greater size and physicality he’ll face at the pro level are legitimate concerns, but modern NFL rules favor slight pass-catchers like Addison. Proven effective in two different offenses against quality competition, I think he has the grit and smarts to prove a quality starter early in his pro career and should be an immediate boost to a Minnesota offense that needed to find a replacement for Adam Thielen opposite superstar Justin Jefferson.

Grade: A-

NFL Draft picks, grades and analysis: Will Levis still on board after Round 1 | FOX Sports

The 2023 NFL Draft is finally here! Here's analysis and grades on every first-round selection from draft expert Rob Rang.

www.foxsports.com

Skol Vikes!!

Not as big or dynamic? Shouldn't that have been two of the required traits for picking a 1st round WR?

 

[Slim Tubby]

PHI just absolutely nailed their draft again and that's bad news for the rest of the NFC.

On the flip side, the Lions continue to be the gift that keeps on giving, Clark.

 

[GopherWeatherGuy]

Not as big or dynamic? Shouldn't that have been two of the required traits for picking a 1st round WR?

Addison is not that much different size wise than a lot of the top WRs and some of the top young ones in the last few drafts. If you have all the skills but just need to add some muscle as a 21 year old, that's an easy problem to fix.

I'm just happy they didn't have the opportunity to draft Quentin Johnston, who I think is Cordarrelle Patterson 2.0, without the return or RB skills.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I just realized Detroit signed David Montgomery already too. And have Swift. Makes that pick even more WTF.

They've used a lot of draft picks on RBs recently.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Go on record......who was your pick?

Whichever defender Flores wanted. That simple, that correct.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Flores is a great coach. I'll just wait and see. No reason to get too upset right now.

Flores isn't going to be out there playing defense himself. He needs players

 

[Gophers_4life]

I like the WR pick. Our defense will be bad regardless. Need to score a lot. Now trade Hunter to PHI or KC and get Porter.

Porter was there for the taking ... Banks too, and others.

Addison maybe will be great, but he won't be a game changer next season on an offense that already went out and won 13 games.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Nolen Smith was the pick.

Sure! Works for me!

Sorry Flores, we don't want to get good players for you in the draft.

 

[Gophers_4life]

Wide receiver was the biggest need on the team

Offense wins 13 games last year and has an All-Pro wideout. Defense gives up over 400 yards a game.

Make it a pay site mods!

 

[Gophers_4life]

I just realized Detroit signed David Montgomery already too. And have Swift. Makes that pick even more WTF.

They've used a lot of draft picks on RBs recently.

Their OC has to be planning to use him all over the field. In the highlights they showed him running a really nice underneath route and catch from the slot.

 

[forever a gopher]

PHI just absolutely nailed their draft again and that's bad news for the rest of the NFC.

On the flip side, the Lions continue to be the gift that keeps on giving, Clark.

I’m probably in the minority, but I could just as easily see Jalen Carter flaming out. The overweight and poor/non-performance at the combine/pro day screams unmotivated to me. I have seen too many guys that had weight/motivation problems to know you can’t fix that if it isn’t already in him. Maybe I’m overreacting, but I wouldn’t draft him unless he fell way farther.

Whomever was on here proclaiming the Lions were going to be hot shit next year just got a dose of reality. That organization can’t help but trip over itself. Unless Goff overperforms again (doubtful), a 9-8 record will win the Vikes the division.

 

[Gophers_4life]

I’m probably in the minority, but I could just as easily see Jalen Carter flaming out. The overweight and poor/non-performance at the combine/pro day screams unmotivated to me. I have seen too many guys that had weight/motivation problems to know you can’t fix that if it isn’t already in him. Maybe I’m overreacting, but I wouldn’t draft him unless he fell way farther.

Whomever was on here proclaiming the Lions were going to be hot shit next year just got a dose of reality. That organization can’t help but trip over itself. Unless Goff overperforms again (doubtful), a 9-8 record will win the Vikes the division.

I think he was in the midst of legal issues and couldn't focus or couldn't (legally) train at all, because of that thing with the drag racing where the teammate and manager died?

 

[GophersInIowa]

Their OC has to be planning to use him all over the field. In the highlights they showed him running a really nice underneath route and catch from the slot.

Apparently Swift is on the trade block too.

I get all that but seems a bit high for a guy like that.

 

[GophersInIowa]

 

[Gophers_4life]

Why even hire Flores then?

Why even have a defense? Just let the other team score right away so we can focus all time and energy on offense.

Addison isn’t going to produce more than KJ next season.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I’m probably in the minority, but I could just as easily see Jalen Carter flaming out. The overweight and poor/non-performance at the combine/pro day screams unmotivated to me. I have seen too many guys that had weight/motivation problems to know you can’t fix that if it isn’t already in him. Maybe I’m overreacting, but I wouldn’t draft him unless he fell way farther.

Whomever was on here proclaiming the Lions were going to be hot shit next year just got a dose of reality. That organization can’t help but trip over itself. Unless Goff overperforms again (doubtful), a 9-8 record will win the Vikes the division.

IMO, I think he was clearly the best player in college football last year. So if he is focused, he is HOF caliber talent. But there is a risk.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Why even hire Flores then?

Why even have a defense? Just let the other team score right away so we can focus all time and energy on offense.

Addison isn’t going to produce more than KJ next season.

Even if KJ is better than Addison going forward, I imagine we'll run a lot of 3 WR sets. It was a massive need. I don't know if Addison is the guy, but WR was a glaring need.

Why hire Flores? I think he'll be okay. He is used to coaching teams that have WRs.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Apparently Swift is on the trade block too.

I get all that but seems a bit high for a guy like that.

It was a terrible pick.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Offense wins 13 games last year and has an All-Pro wideout. Defense gives up over 400 yards a game.

Make it a pay site mods!

Personally, I wouldn't have hated a CB either but WR was our second biggest need. Our biggest need is still DT.

We spent a lot of draft capital last year on CBs and just signed Murphy. Our defense will stink next year, but it seemed pretty obvious to me that the staff (or maybe the front office) wants to roll out with Booth, Evans and Murphy.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Whichever defender Flores wanted. That simple, that correct.

We should give the keys to the entire franchise over to the guy we just hired who sued his second to last employer. No questions asked.

 

[Ope3]

Sure! Works for me!

Sorry Flores, we don't want to get good players for you in the draft.

You are acting as though the draft is over. There are several other selections to be made which can assist the porous defense.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

two possible ways to look at this:
Kwesi and KOC know what they're doing and they thought this guy was the best player available.

Kwesi and KOC don't know what they're doing. In that case it doesn't really matter who they pick.

so if you're a Vikings fan, you'd better hope that #1 turns out to be correct.

otherwise, as Otter said to Flounder, "my advice to you is to start drinking heavily."

 

[Bad Gopher]

SI chimes in:

Minnesota Vikings, Jordan Addison, WR, USC​

The run on receivers continued in Minnesota, with the Vikings taking Addison to play opposite Justin Jefferson. While the player is terrific, Minnesota had one of the league’s worst defenses in 2022 and still has ample holes. There were terrific options in edge rusher Nolan Smith and corner Deonte Banks as well. Good player, strange pick. —*M.V.*

Grade: C

https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/04/28/2023-nfl-draft-first-round-grades-panthers-texans#gid=ci02bd9949c000279b&pid=23

Skol Vikes!!

Most people and "experts" are way too hung up on drafting for need, especially early.

 

[Slim Tubby]

two possible ways to look at this:
Kwesi and KOC know what they're doing and they thought this guy was the best player available.

Kwesi and KOC don't know what they're doing. In that case it doesn't really matter who they pick.

so if you're a Vikings fan, you'd better hope that #1 turns out to be correct.

otherwise, as Otter said to Flounder, "my advice to you is to start drinking heavily."