3 best moves that Vikings made in the NFL Draft

1. Trading down and still landing Christian Darrisaw

It is often rare for a team to trade down in the first-round and still have a top-tier talent fall into their laps. But that is exactly what happened with the Vikings.

Holding the 14th overall pick and in need of a starting left tackle, Minnesota watched as the Los Angeles Chargers took Northwestern offensive tackle Rashawn Slater. Shortly after the pick was made, the Vikings struck a deal with the New York Jets to trade the No. 14 pick in exchange for the No. 23, 66 and 86 picks. After watching the Jets take USC guard Alijah Vera-Tucker and the Las Vegas Raiders reach for Alabama tackle Alex Leatherwood with the 17th overall pick, the Vikings selected Virginia Tech’s Christian Darrisaw once they were on the clock.

With the team releasing Riley Reiff this offseason, the Vikings effectively replaced him with the 6-foot-4, 322-pound Darrisaw. Not only was Darrisaw a solid pick, but they gained second- and third-round selections from New York to select both Davis and Mond!

This was without a doubt the best move that Spielman made this weekend.