Vikings general manager Rick Spielman traded out of the third-round last night, and the executive explained his logic to Mark Craig of the Star Tribune.
“Going through the logic on why that made sense to us or why that made sense to me to pull the trigger on that is a couple of things: Looking at the depth and the players and what our current roster looks like this year. The second point, I always try to look at what our roster and what are potential guys that are going to be coming out of contracts next year. Third, I would say is the depth on the board still left tomorrow. We feel very strongly that there are still a lot of very talented football players that we will be able to pick up and add to our roster.
“So those three things were kind of the thought process for doing the trade with Miami. In essence I get three players for the price of one, although I did bank two of those players for next year. In next year’s draft, having an extra three and and extra four gives you a lot of flexibility to move around in those early rounds, either potentially going back into the first or moving around in the second. We have a lot more flexibility next year than where I am anticipating we’re going to be picking lower in the rounds, where you don’t have as much flexibility.”
Let’s check out some other draft notes from around the NFL…
- The Eagles selected offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo in the third round, and Les Bowen of Philly.com writes that members of the organization believe the rookie can start right away. “I think this kid can come in here and compete and give us great depth … challenge for a starting job,” Eagles coach Doug Pederson said.
- The Raiders “big target” on day three will be a running back, tweets Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune.
- The Titans made four picks on Friday night, but ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky is convinced that only one of those players (right tackle Jack Conklin) will start next season. The writer wonders if he set his expectations too high, or if the organization missed out on players who could contribute immediately.