It’s not a strong class of offensive linemen,” Dane Brugler, a draft analyst for CBS Sports said. We might have two or three offensive linemen drafted in the first round, and even that is a stretch.”
The point Brugler is trying to make is that because even though the Vikings desperately need to improve their offensive line and there aren't many good offensive linemen available in the draft so not having a first-rounder doesn't hurt.
My response:
It's about scarcity. There aren't many linemen. On that, we can agree. That means teams who need linemen are going to move earlier to get those that are available; essentially driving the price up. And by price, I mean draft stock. You'll have to spend more and more valuable picks to get less valuable offensive linemen. So, the Vikings don't have a first, which would have been the 14th overall pick, and have to spend second or third round stock on fifth or sixth round value.
In a word: yuck.
Look, Teddy Bridgewater's horrific knee injury in training camp derailed the 2016 season and is having a negative effect on 2017 because the team had to spend their first-rounder to get Sam Bradford. The team felt they had a shot at a deep run, but after a 5-0 start finished just 8-8 and out of the playoffs.
That was one expensive knee injury.
And the one thing teams need to rebuild is draft picks, preferably high draft picks. Which the Vikings don't have in 2017. Sure, there's a lot of talent in free agency. Getting T.J. Lang from Green Bay accomplishes two things, weakening a divisional opponent while improving your own team. But, he and other free agents won't come cheap, and the Vikings carryover only $400K in salary cap from 2016, the fourth-least in the NFL.
When you're building an NFL team, the big guys matter most. Simply look around at who the best teams and improving teams are. Dallas, Green Bay, Atlanta. Really good offensive lines. Tennessee is getting better because their line is getting to be very good. Minnesota? A dumpster fire. Because they have spent only two picks in the first three rounds on offensive linemen in THE LAST TEN DRAFTS.
I think you're pickin' up what I'm puttin' down.
Pray for Sam Bradford. He's gonna need all the help he can get next year.
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