2023 NFL Draft Recap: Minnesota Vikings

The 2023 NFL Draft has concluded after months of scrutiny about these prospects, potential landing spots, team and scheme fits, and so on. Now we get to start the entire process all over again now that we have team landing spots for these college prospects with their new NFL teams.

Today, we tackle the Minnesota Vikings and how they fared in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Minnesota's 2023 NFL Draft Selections:

  • Round 1, Pick 23 - Jordan Addison, WR, USC
  • Round 3, Pick 102 - Mekhi Blackmon, CB, USC
  • Round 4, Pick 134 - Jay Ward, CB, LSU
  • Round 5, Pick 141 - Jaquelin Roy, DT, LSU
  • Round 5, Pick 164 - Jaren Hall, QB, BYU
  • Round 7, Pick 222 - DeWayne McBride, RB, UAB

The 2023 Fantasy Football Impact:

With the departure of longtime Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen to Carolina, the Vikings had a big need at the position, with just K.J. Osborn and Jalen Reagor among some unexciting options after Justin Jefferson. Enter Jordan Addison, who has a pretty clear path to the WR2 role in 2023. It may be Osborn to begin, but Addison should assert himself quickly as, let's face it: Osborn is no roadblock.

The Vikings play some of the most condensed personnel in the league as they regularly give their studs huge snap and routes shares, which is a head coach Kevin O'Connell trait that goes back to his days as offensive coordinator with the Rams. Consider that as the WR3, Osborn ran over 80% of routes in 2022, so Addison has that as his absolute floor, which makes him the top rookie wide receiver in redraft and best ball this season.

After making a big splash with a receiver in the first round, the Vikings then drafted a developmental quarterback in Jaren Hall and an intriguing running back selection with DeWayne McBride. Hall won't be pressed into duty unless a confluence of factors happens, but McBride would solely be an injury-based contingent play considering the Vikings don't usually go past Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison with their running back depth chart. McBride is not a pass catcher and it remains to be seen if he's ever caught a pass in his life. Still, he's an Alfred Morris clone who could climb upwards if something happened to the backs in front of him or if Cook were moved from the Vikings.

Follow Kevin Tompkins on Twitter @ktompkinsii!

Have Your Say