Minnesota Vikings NFL Draft Grade:

Round 1, #23 – DT Sharrif Floyd, Florida – Grade: A+

-This is a tremendous pick by the Vikings. Floyd should have been a top 10 pick and the Vikings land him here at 23. Defensive tackle is also a major need for the Vikings so adding him, puts the final touches on a really strong defensive line.

Round 1, #25 – CB Xavier Rhodes, Florida St. – Grade: B-

-Rhodes has a lot of upside, but he’s also a bit more raw as a corner. He’s a high risk/high reward pick and one I would not have made in the first round. He was a penalty machine in college, and that is only likely to get worse at the next level as the competition is better and they call games tighter.

Round 1, #29 – WR Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee – Grade: C-

-This is just an awful move by the Vikings where they traded 4 players for one. Not only did they give up too much value, but Patterson is a poor guy to invest in. He’s a major project and will likely be very limited for the first couple of years of his career. He can help the Vikings in a number of ways, but he shouldn’t be counted on as an every down receiver, and he has a high bust factor.

Round 4, #120 – OLB Gerald Hodges, Penn St. – Grade: B-

-The Vikings needed some additional help at linebacker and Hodges is a nice pick here. He could quickly compete for a starting spot, and should be a valuable special teamer.

Round 5, #155 – P Jeff Locke, UCLA – Grade: C

-Locke was my favorite punter/kickoff specialist in this draft, but I don’t see the need here with Chris Kluwe one of the better punters in the league. Also this is probably a round too high for Locke.

Round 6, #196 – OG Jeff Baca, UCLA – Grade: B-

-The Vikings needed some interior offensive line depth and Baca is a nice pick-up as he has some versatility.

Round 7, #213 – ILB Michael Mauti, Penn St. – Grade: C+

-If he didn’t have multiple major knee injuries Mauti would have likely been a top 100 pick. The Vikings do need some LB depth, my only concern here is he’s a huge risk, and given how many picks they traded away and the risks they took prior they probably should have gone in a different direction.

Round 7, #214 – OG Travis Bond, North Carolina – Grade: C+

-Again more interior offensive line depth.

Round 7, #229 – DT Everett Dawkins, Florida St. – Grade: B-

-Real solid pick-up, defensive tackle was a need from more than just a starting perspective. Dawkins is a nice value here in the 7th round.

Overall: C

-I really didn’t like what the Vikings did here. This was an incredibly deep draft and you trade away your 2nd, 3rd and 4th round picks (plus a 7th) to jump up and get perhaps the riskiest player in this entire draft? There was still a ton of talent on the board for all three of those picks, and the Vikings could have taken a pair of WR’s and added a quality player at another position. The Xavier Rhodes pick is another one I don’t really understand, I know the upside is there, but he played way too inconsistently in college and is going to come with a lot of growing pains. Some of their later round reaches were also troubling. The Vikings were a playoff team last year, and they could have used some quality guys to come in and contribute, and outside of Floyd I don’t think they got that.