NFL Executives Were Impressed by the Vikings 2023 Draft
Josh Frey
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Heading into the 2023 NFL Draft, there was a ton of uncertainty regarding exactly how the Vikings would approach the draft. They entered the weekend with five selections, but after a few trades, the Vikings 2023 draft class is made up of six prospects. Apparently, NFL executives around the league were rather impressed with how Minnesota approached the draft as well.
Mike Sando of The Athletic interviewed multiple executives from across the league about each team’s draft this spring. Take a look at a quote he got from an executive on the Vikings draft class:
“Give them credit for getting good players while being limited in their resources,” another exec said. “They made a couple savvy trade-backs, got a fifth next year (from Kansas City). They were able to create value. We liked Addison, we liked Blackmon, we liked Jaren Hall.”
And another:
“You lose Thielen and then you add a really good route runner in Addison, a good get for them. You probably wish they could have gotten more for the defensive side of the ball, but they had to get the receiver where they got him, while greater depth at corner let them get one who will fit Flores’ system.”
Hopefully, this shared desire for prospects like Jordan Addison, Mekhi Blackmon, and Jaren Hall means there is some serious NFL potential for all of them. Particularly for Addison, the Vikings only top-100 pick of this draft, he is going to be expected to fill much of the void left by Adam Thielen in 2023, who was targeted 107 times and caught 70 passes for 716 yards and 6 TDs.
Additionally, if Blackmon and Hall truly were highly rated prospects in the league, perhaps there should be increased hope that they can be contributors down the line for Minnesota. In Hall’s case specifically, the Vikings have uncertainty at the QB position after the 2023 season. If the rookie QB can develop, perhaps there is a chance he replaces Kirk Cousins as Minnesota’s quarterback of the future.
This praise for the Vikings draft class causes further excitement for the young Vikings heading into the future. We have seen very little of Minnesota’s 2022 draft class to this point as well, largely because injuries derailed seasons for Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth Jr., Akayleb Evans, and Ty Chandler. The only rookie we got to see much of last year was RG Ed Ingram, who started every game for Minnesota.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.