Minnesota had a mass overhaul in the 2020 offseason. That led to the Vikings having to rely on rookie talent for much of this past season.
In some ways, the most recent draft class turned out pretty well. Minnesota had rookies like Justin Jefferson and Cameron Dantzler become starting-caliber NFL players throughout the season.
NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice took notice of the Vikings rookies. Filice gave the team’s rookie class an A- grade. Here’s what he said about Minnesota’s first-year players:
“Rick Spielman had the most bites at the 2020 draft apple with an NFL-high 15 picks, though the vast majority of them occurred on Day 3. Still, he was able to net quality contributors in multiple areas of need.”
Filice was impressed with Jefferson and Dantzler, but thought Jeff Gladney needed to improve. If Gladney can minimize some of his errors in coverage and Dantzler can keeping making strides, the young cornerback could look way better in 2021.