Minnesota Gophers - 2020 NFL Draft

[MNVCGUY]

Congrats to the 5 guys that were drafted (was definitely a little surprised to see Williamson picked), the ones who signed as UDFA and to the ones who will no doubt get camp invites once we hit a point where those can start happening again.

Hopefully a number of them will land spots on their teams rosters because we need more former Gophers running around out there in the NFL.

 

[Veritas]

It's almost like there's a correlation to number of players drafted and wins.

Must be frustrating as heck to be the Michigan coach.

 

[hungan1]

In summary, Gophers that are drafted or are signing UDFA contracts: Total 7

Draft:
Rnd 2, Pick 45 - Antoine Winfield Jr, S - Grade A- (CBS Sports)

Rnd 5, Pick 161 - Tyler Johnson, WR - A-

Rnd 5, Pick 175 - Kamal Martin, LB - D+

Rnd 7, Pick 218 - Carter Coughlin, LB - A

Rnd 7, Pick 247 - Chris Williamson, CB - B-

UDFA:
Rodney Smith, RB -

Sam Renner, DE -

 

[EG#9]

Great showing for the Gophers. I was pumped that Williamson got drafted as he was starting to appear in mock drafts/simulations late in the process. I really think the Giants got a steal in Coughlin as he certainly tested well enough to play linebacker. The kid essentially played out of position his entire career as a Gopher as an undersized DE and was our best pass rusher.

Dilemma: I was all set to root for a Brady/Gronk trainwreck of a season in Tampa and now both Winfield Jr and Johnson are there. I do think it's arguably a great fit for both guys though. I didn't want TJ on the Vikings after they drafted Jefferson (all the Vikings have are slot guys now which is what TJ is) as he has a chance to get the slot role for Tampa and play with Evans and Godwin eating up a ton of attention outside. With Brady loving to target the slot, that sets up for a potentially very nice rookie year for Tyler Johnson. With Winfield Jr, Arians had the honey badger in Arizona who is the player Antoine is most commonly compared to in draft circles. I think they likely move Antoine to both slot and safety like they did with Mathieu in Arizona which will really showcase his abilities.

Kamal might have been the Packers best draft pick at least for immediate impact. I did note that they took him one spot ahead of the Vikings in a similar situation to the Jets taking Cashman ahead of us last year.

I hope the UDFA guys can make teams/practice squads as well. Nobody has signed him yet, but I think Shannon Brooks has a shot to stick in the league if he can stay healthy as well.