RandBall: Vikings draft leaves room for doubt

April 29, 2018 at 11:51PM

My biggest fear about the Vikings as they approached the draft was that they felt so good about their 2018 roster that they wouldn't choose players who could help them in the short-term.

After three days of selections, my concern has not abated. First round corner Mike Hughes should be able to get on the field right away, but beyond that early contributors are questionable.

We might very well look back on this draft in, say, 2020 as one in which the Vikings hit on a few long-term projects who turned into very good players.

But we might also might see a Vikings team in 2018 that isn't as deep as coaches or decisionmakers thought it was and wonder if the organization might have been better served taking more immediate contributors.

The Vikings and GM Rick Spielman have generally earned the benefit of the doubt, but with this draft there's still room for doubt.

Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. mrand@startribune.com

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