With the NFL Draft concluding on Saturday, articles grading each team’s draft have flooded the internet. The Minnesota Vikings have earned rave reviews in that regard as they put together what is being praised as the best class in the NFL.
A study by Twitter user Rene Bugner put together the cumulative GPA of draft grades from 13 national writers and the Vikings came out on top with a cumulative GPA of 3.92.
🚨 2020 NFL Draft | Team Grades
I combined the grades of these guys for GPA:
Chad Reuter
Vinnie Iyer
PFF
Luke Easterling
Andy Benoit
Daryl Slater
Doug Farrar
Dan Kadar
Mark Maske
Ryan Dunleavy
Mel Kiper Jr
Nate Davis
Thor NystromThanks for your work – much appreciated 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/2CJDaYYtBJ
— RenĂ© Bugner (@RNBWCV) April 26, 2020
While the nearly straight A’s the Vikings received may not be exciting enough, the actual praise in these articles might just do the trick. Rotoworld’s Thor Nystrom was one writer who gave the Vikings an A+.
“By my chart, the Vikes walked away from this draft with three first-round values, a second-rounder, two thirds, three fifths and a seventh,” Nystrom said. “That they all happened to be awesome scheme fits at positions of need? Quarantine looked good on Minny.”
The Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer also gave the Vikings an A+ labeling their draft as “incredible.”
“Not only did the Vikings maneuver to gain insane volume, they also knew they exactly what to do with them,” Iyer said. “They got their wideout to replace Stefon Diggs, and corners to replace Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander. In true Zimmer fashion, they also reinforced their defensive front seven nicely and had room to get a potential left tackle of the near future.”
Even ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. was impressed with the Vikings’ haul in the draft noting their ability to turn 12 picks into 15 with two extra picks in the 2021 draft.
“With that much capital, it takes a lot not to get an A from me,” Kiper said. “And really, I like the value the Vikings got throughout, starting with extracting a first-round pick for wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who was disgruntled in Minnesota.”
Perhaps adding to Viking fans’ approval of their draft is the way the Green Bay Packers botched theirs. With a 1.31 GPA, the Packers ranked last in the league. The next closest team was the Houston Texans at 2.07.
“Where to begin with this whiff of a class for [Packers GM] Brian Gutekunst?” Iyer said, who gave their class a D. “They should have considered offensive tackle earlier and it was absolutely shocking to not add a wide receiver to support Rodgers. The Vikings, Cowboys, Buccaneers, 49ers and Saints all did much better as NFC contenders in relation, too.”
Draft classes should always be taken with a grain of salt this time of year, but if the class produces on the field, the Vikings could remain in contention when they hit the field in 2020.
