Draft Grades Roundup: What Do Analysts Think of Vikings' 2023 Class?

The Vikings made six selections in the 2023 NFL Draft, from USC wide receiver Jordan Addison in the first round to UAB running back DeWayne McBride in the seventh. In between those two playmakers, they added some versatility to their defense and took an intriguing developmental quarterback in BYU's Jaren Hall.

Minnesota Vikings 2023 NFL Draft Recap: Playmakers, Versatile Defenders, and a QB

The #Vikings' 2023 draft class:

Round 1, Pick 23: USC WR Jordan Addison
Round 3, Pick 102: USC CB Mekhi Blackmon
Round 4, Pick 134: LSU S/CB Jay Ward
Round 5, Pick 141: LSU DT Jaquelin Roy
Round 5, Pick 164: BYU QB Jaren Hall
Round 7, Pick 222: UAB RB DeWayne McBride
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) April 29, 2023

It was an interesting draft that focused on premium positions and addressed various needs. Some may have questions about the Vikings passing on players like Will Levis and Joey Porter Jr. in the first round, but there won't be any second-guessing if the USC duo of Addison and CB Mekhi Blackmon pans out. Minnesota still needs to figure out its plan at quarterback in 2024, but that wasn't a decision that had to be made this weekend.

Let's take a trip around the internet to see what kind of grades national analysts gave the Vikings in their second draft under Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O'Connell. Immediate draft grades are obviously just guesses — how the media views players is often different from how NFL teams do — but it's still interesting to see grades and the reasoning behind them.

Mel Kiper Jr., ESPN: B

The Vikings got just two defensive snaps from rookie safety

Lewis Cine

, last year's first-round pick, and they entered this draft without a second-rounder because it was

dealt for tight end T.J. Hockenson

last fall. So while I thought for a little bit on Thursday that they might go for quarterback

Will Levis

at No. 23, they opted for a prospect who can make an immediate impact.

Jordan Addison

will fit well as the No. 2 wideout behind

Justin Jefferson

. Addison can run any route, and he can line up all across the formation. He just knows how to get open.

Minnesota went back to USC for cornerback

Mekhi Blackmon

(102) in Round 3. I had that one as a little bit of a reach with better corners on the board. I liked defensive tackle

Jaquelin Roy

(141) in Round 5; he can be solid nose tackle. I don't see NFL starter traits for quarterback

Jaren Hall

, but he was extremely productive over the past two years. I never mind a Day 3 quarterback selection too much. Running back

DeWayne McBride

(222) is my favorite selection for Minnesota; he is a top-100 prospect on my board. He averaged 155.7 rushing yards per game last season, and he can break tackles in the open field. He isn't likely to be a third-down back as a rookie, but he's a natural runner once he gets the ball.

This is a small class, but Addison fills a massive need. I'm just curious to see how much Blackmon can play as a rookie, because Minnesota has available snaps for him.

Chad Reuter, NFL.com: A-

Day 1 grade:

A

Day 2 grade:

B+

Day 3 grade:

A

Analysis:

Addison will complement star receiver

Justin Jefferson

so well from the slot that it seemed the marriage was fate. Tight end

T.J. Hockenson

cost the team its second-rounder, which may prove wise if the Vikings are able to extend or re-sign him next offseason. Blackmon's competitiveness and sticky coverage met a crucial need.

Ward is a tough-minded safety who can play some nickel for the Vikings, picking him after gaining a 2024 fifth-round pick when trading down. Roy was an excellent value in the fifth as an active interior defender. Hall is a developmental passer but flashed the velocity and accuracy of an NFL starter as often as some other quarterbacks selected before him. McBride went two rounds later than I expected.

Charles McDonald, Yahoo! Sports: C+

The

Vikings

had a “stay afloat” draft. It wasn’t sexy and they didn’t take a whole lot of risks, but it should help them stay atop the NFC North for at least another year. Getting quality depth pieces like USC cornerback Mekhi Blackmon and LSU defensive tackle Jaquelin Roy will help new coordinator Brian Flores implement his defense as well. Just a solid draft for the Vikings. Not good, not bad, just solid.

Favorite pick:

Jordan Addison

, WR, USC (23rd overall)

This pick was pretty straightforward. If the Vikings are still going to be a team that relies on

Kirk Cousins

to air it out for them, they need as many talented pass catchers as possible to make life easier for them. Justin Jefferson is already a known commodity, but Jordan Addison profiles as the perfect No. 2 wide receiver to play with Jefferson. Addison gives the Vikings a strong secondary wide receiver that will keep the floor of their passing game high.

Least favorite pick:

Jay Ward

, DB, LSU (134th overall)

The Vikings didn’t have a very exciting draft, but someone needs to hold down this spot. Passing on Christopher Smith and Antonio Johnson may come back to bite them, but there’s no real use in being belligerent over a fourth-round pick either way.

Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: C-

Best Pick:

It's first-round receiver

Jordan Addison

. I think he was the best receiver in this class, so they got value after three others were taken before him. He will be a nice 1-2 complement to

Justin Jefferson

.

Worst Pick:

I didn't like the pick of USC corner

Mekhi Blackmon

in the third round. There were a lot better options on the board when they picked Blackmon, even though corner is a major need.

The Skinny:

After Addison, I didn't love their draft. I do like fifth-round defensive tackle Jacquelin Roy from LSU. He has talent and he's strong. Seventh-round running back

DeWayne McBride

was on my Better-Than team, so I like him. He does have some health issues and he doesn't catch the football.

Nate Davis, USA Today: B

Different kind of player, but first-round WR Jordan Addison should make hay as he steps into departed Adam Thielen's role opposite Jefferson. And, remember, the Round 2 choice was used last year to get TE T.J. Hockenson. The Vikes' most interesting picks might be fifth-round QB Jaren Hall and seventh-round RB DeWayne McBride given the uncertain futures of Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook, respectively. Also, admittedly rooting for undrafted free agent OLB Andre Carter II, who played at West Point.

Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: B+

The Vikings started off with a bang taking Addison to pair with Justin Jefferson. They lost their way with shaky consecutive selections for corner, but quickly rebounded with a steal of Roy. Hall and McBride may not be the late-round answers, but their developmental plan put the Vikings on track to think more about life without Kirk Cousins and Dalvin Cook, likely in 2024.

Grace McDermott, DK Nation: B

The Vikings started strong with Jordan Addison, who had showed up in several mocks as the perfect guy to pair with Justin Jefferson. They filled some major needs in the secondary with Blackmon and Ward, grabbed a solid Kirk Cousins backup in Jaren Hall, and may have gotten Roy and McBride at a steal in these later rounds. They may not have gotten any stars, but they grabbed some solid options to fill in some struggling positions and added to their depth chart.

FOX Sports: C+

Considering the Vikings came into the draft with just five total picks, this was never going to be a splashy draft. Through some maneuvering, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah ended up making six total selections, but only one of those came in the top 100. The Vikings did add a dynamic playmaker in USC wide receiver Jordan Addison at No. 23 overall to complete a wideout trifecta with Justin Jefferson and KJ Osborn. They have the benefit of T.J. Hockenson in the receiving game, as well.

Ryan Gosling, Pro Football Network: B

For the most part, the Vikings did what they needed to do. Getting Jordan Addison was the biggest accomplishment – a viable counter-threat to Justin Jefferson. And on Day 3, the Jay Ward, Jaquelin Roy, DeWayne McBride, and Jaren Hall picks all provided solid value. Ward, in particular, has the potential to outperform his capital and fulfill a vital role for Minnesota.

The selection of Mekhi Blackmon late on Day 2 was the lone blemish on Minnesota’s record. Blackmon had an intriguing profile for the Day 3 range, but Round 3 was too rich for him. Luckily, Minnesota wasn’t dependent on that pick to stay afloat at CB. They have talent already. But they passed on a lot of other good cornerbacks, so it’ll be interesting to watch how this outcome diverges.

Kyle Dvorchak, NBC Sports EDGE: B

Jordan Addison is a certified stud. He went for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2021 on his way to joining the elite group of receivers to win the Fred Biletnikoff Award as a freshman or sophomore. He should also slot in as an elite WR2 alongside Justin Jefferson. Truly no notes on this pick. Their picks in the secondary, Mekhi Blackmon and Jay Ward, would be considered reaches by both the big board and Dane Brugler's rankings via The Beast. I do, however, love the upside bullet they fired on DeWayne McBride. The UAB back averaged an otherworldly 7.3 yards per carry on 484 career attempts.

Thor Nystrom, Fantasy Pros: D+

Considering Minnesota’s poor cornerback room, it couldn’t have been easy to pass on CB Joey Porter Jr. at 1.23. But ultimately, the Vikings made the correct three-dimensional-chess call, calculating that the depth of the CB class and weakness of the WR class would present a superior prospect at the former when the team came back on the clock in Round 3.

The Vikings ended up trading down off that pick – swapping No. 87 to San Francisco for No. 102, No. 164 and No. 222 – to up its pick allotment from five to seven. In lieu of the team’s cap issues, that was sage. At No. 102, the Vikings took Mekhi Blackmon. I believe the Vikings when they say they were going to take Blackmon at No. 87 – he’s a perfect fit for new DC Brian Flores’ uber-aggressive scheme. Blackmon fist-fights you off line, is sticky in man, and is an enthusiastic run defender who rarely misses tackles.

The Addison and Blackmon “USC special” couplet was qualitatively superior to, for instance, the alternate reality of CB Joey Porter Jr. and WR Charlie Jones had Minnesota chosen to walk that path. Minnesota’s lack of equity and cap problems boxed them into a corner that they needed to continue to punch out of on Saturday. With one exception, I just didn’t see that. I’m not a fan of either of the LSU defenders that the Vikings took. And there’s a 98% chance that the Vikings lit the No. 164 pick on fire when they took the wildly inconsistent QB Jaren Hall.

The one Day 3 pick I liked was RB DeWayne McBride. RB Dalvin Cook will almost assuredly not be on the 2023 roster. In a post-Dalvin world, McBride could surprise immediately. You don’t want McBride on the field on passing downs, but he’s a natural runner who is extremely difficult to get on the ground. McBride’s 36% career forced-missed-tackle rate trails only Bijan Robinson and Javonte Williams in PFF’s nine-year history.

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