NFL Executives Praise Jordan Addison, Vikings' 2023 Draft Class

It's always interesting to see the annual post-draft articles with quotes from anonymous coaches and executives across the football landscape.

Recently, there was the ESPN article where a Pac-12 defensive coordinator said Vikings first-round pick Jordan Addison "never blew me away" at USC last season.

Some NFL executives, however, were very high on the Vikings' 2023 draft, their second under the leadership of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O'Connell. In a piece by The Athletic's Mike Sando, a few execs heaped praise on the Vikings for what they added without major draft capital.

The Vikings entered the draft with just five selections. But after making a league-high six trades during his first draft as a general manager a year ago, Adofo-Mensah again worked the phones and made three deals. He moved back from 87 to 102 in the third round, picking up two extra Day 3 picks. He then moved back from 119 to 134 in the fourth round, getting a 2024 fifth-rounder out of it. And finally, Adofo-Mensah also showed a willingness to move up, giving up a sixth to go from 158 to 141 for LSU DT Jaquelin Roy. Five picks became six players and an extra 2024 pick.

This was the Vikings' 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

“Give them credit for getting good players while being limited in their resources,” an exec said. “They made a couple savvy trade-backs, got a fifth next year (from Kansas City). They were able to create value. We liked Addison, we liked Blackmon, we liked Jaren Hall.”

In the first round, the Vikings were weighing trade-back options, but they never got the right value. So they stayed put at pick 23 and added Addison to their offense, despite having major needs on defense. Addison is a former Biletnikoff winner who should start right away for the Vikings in the wake of Adam Thielen's departure.

The Vikings then used their next three picks on defensive players, including a pair of versatile defensive backs.

"You lose Thielen and then you add a really good route runner in Addison, a good get for them," another exec said. “You probably wish they could have gotten more for the defensive side of the ball, but they had to get the receiver where they got him, while greater depth at corner let them get one who will fit Flores’ system."

It's fair to still be concerned about the Vikings' defense, which ranked towards the bottom of the league last season. Out are Dalvin Tomlinson, Eric Kendricks, and the entire cornerback room, led by Patrick Peterson. In are Dean Lowry, Marcus Davenport, and Byron Murphy Jr., with the three rookies and four of last year's top picks — Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth Jr., Brian Asamoah, and Akayleb Evans — in the mix for major roles.

But the biggest single difference is that the Vikings replaced Ed Donatell with Brian Flores at coordinator, which will result in a much more aggressive style of defense.

“The best thing Flores has going is that they have a relatively strong offense,” another exec said. “Their defense could get a bump just from the scheme change.”

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