Which 2023 Vikings Opponents Improved the Most in the Draft?
Josh Frey
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The 2023 NFL Draft is officially a week behind us, and as the dust settles, we’ve gotten a chance to evaluate which teams did the best job of improving their rosters in this year’s draft. While we are still a few days away from receiving the 2023 NFL schedule, we’ve known the Vikings opponents for the season ever since the regular season concluded back in January. Today, we’re going to take a look at which of these opponents improved the most through the draft.
Denver Broncos
The Broncos really needed two things more than anything else from this draft class: versatile defenders and a true deep-threat WR out of the slot. They were able to accomplish both of these tasks. With their second-round pick, they took WR Marvin Mims out of Oklahoma, who recorded a 4.38 40 at the combine, and over the past two seasons, he’s averaged over 20 yards per reception. Mims will be a great complement to Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton while allowing Russell Wilson to scratch his deep-ball itch.
They also grabbed LB Drew Sanders, a true do-it-all defender at the linebacker position. Sanders spent his early career playing EDGE for Alabama, but then, he transferred to Arkansas and took on more of an off-ball linebacker role. He immediately thrived and stuffed the stat sheet for the Razorbacks before heading to the NFL.
On top of that, JL Skinner is a truly massive safety that they were able to snag in the sixth round out of Boise State. He tore his pec prior to the combine, which could impact his availability for the 2023 season, but when healthy, Skinner is a hard-hitting tackler that has the speed and ball skills to make plays down the field.
Green Bay Packers
Over the past few years, the Green Bay Packers have somewhat neglected grabbing offensive playmakers since they could rely on Aaron Rodgers to carry them at the quarterback position. Well, Rodgers is now a New York Jet, and Jordan Love is set to step into the starting QB role for the first time in his career.
As a result, Green Bay went all-in on finding pass-catchers for Love so that his first season as the starter goes as smoothly as possible. After grabbing Lukas Van Ness in the first round to shore up the EDGE spot opposite Rashan Gary, they used three consecutive picks on Luke Musgrave, Jayden Reed, and Tucker Kraft in Day 2.
Kraft and Musgrave will allow the Packers to continue playing their usual multi-TE sets on offense, and Jayden Reed can be another speed demon in the slot to pair with Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles really didn’t have many needs for the 2023 season as it is, but they somehow found a way to get even scarier than their 14-3 record and NFC championship from 2022.
Philly grabbed yet another freakish interior defensive lineman by drafting Jalen Carter with the 9th overall pick, but he wasn’t the only player from the historic Georgia Bulldogs defense they added. The Eagles also drafted EDGE Nolan Smith with the 30th overall pick, one of the most athletic pass-rushers we’ve ever seen at the combine, and CB Kelee Ringo who can be a very low-risk, high-reward pick for Philly at No. 105 overall.
The one true need that Philly had was in the secondary, and the addition of safety Sydney Brown adds a very versatile defensive back to that room. He played over 100 snaps as a slot cornerback in four of his five seasons with Illinois, but he can also fill the strong safety role.
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.