2022 Vikings Draft: If I was Calling the Shots

Lance Leach -

Last year, right about this time, I was bored, just trying to find something football related I could work on to keep my mind occupied. So, I started a spreadsheet and one team at a time I went through their drafts, looked at the players that were still available when they made their picks, and using my draft board I put who I would have taken in that spot.

Here I am again, one year later, just trying to find something to keep me entertained. So, I decided to start it again. However, doing it for all 32 teams is difficult because than I gotta ask myself "am I redoing the entire draft, or taking each team from an individual standpoint?" Instead, I decided to focus on just one team. But how do you choose just one team? I suppose I could've thrown all 32 names into a hat and drawn one out, or put them all into a random student picker app and hit the select button, but if you're going to do an exercise like this you gotta choose your dream job right?!

My dream job would be a draft analyst for the Minnesota Vikings. I don't know if teams actually staff draft analysts or if they only have scouts, but what I do is more in the statistical analysis side of things, so draft analyst seems more appropriate. I wouldn't want to be the head honcho, because there's so much more to the General Manager position than just the draft, but I would love to play a role in my team's draft day that eventually leads to a Super Bowl victory.

Below you will see a table with who the Vikings took at each pick and a table with who I would've taken at each of those spots based on who was available. I tried to keep the positions the same, there is one positional change, and you'll notice there were two picks the Vikings made that I would've stuck with. If you're not a Vikings fan, well you probably should be. Get with the program people!

Minnesota's Actual Draft

Round Pick Pos. Name College
1 32 S Lewis Cine Georgia
2 42 CB Andrew Booth Jr. Clemson
2 59 OG Ed Ingram LSU
3 66 LB Brian Asamoah Oklahoma
4 118 CB Akayleb Evans Missouri
5 165 DL Esezi Otomewo Minnesota
5 169 RB Ty Chandler North Carolina
6 184 OT Vederian Lowe Illinois
6 191 WR Jalen Nailor Michigan State
7 227 TE Nick Muse South Carolina

If I Was Picking

Round Pick Pos. Name College
1 32 S Lewis Cine Georgia
2 42 CB Alontae Taylor Tennessee
2 59 OL Zach Tom Wake Forest
3 66 LB Chad Muma Wyoming
4 118 CB Zyon McCollum Sam Houston State
5 165 DL Haskell Garrett Ohio State
5 169 RB Ty Chandler North Carolina
6 184 OT Zachary Thomas San Diego State
6 191 WR Bo Melton Rutgers
7 227 WR Jaquarii Roberson Wake Forest

Alontae Taylor, Zach Tom and Chad Muma were all top three prospects at their positions on my draft board. Zyon McCollum in the 4th round would've been brilliant, he's got all the intangibles you could want and a 4th round grade would lower the pain level if he failed to pan out. I like Nailor, but Melton had the higher grade with my formula. Roberson in the 7th would have been great value, especially since all of the Tight Ends that received draftable grades on my board were gone by pick 227.