Mel Kiper Bumps Up Minnesota Vikings' Draft Grade

As we've stated on this website on numerous occasions in the past, the ritual of "grading" an NFL draft class within hours of the completion of said draft falls somewhere on the scale between "ridiculous" and "asinine."

Grading a draft class after one season? Still a bit ridiculous, but markedly less so considering the players in question have actually set foot on an NFL field.

With that, from behind the reaches of the great E$PN paywall, we have Mel Kiper. . .dramatic pause. . .draft expert doing a re-grading of the marks he gave out for the draft class of 2015. Kiper had pretty high praise for the group of draftees that the Minnesota Vikings brought in this past season, moving his grade up from a "B" to a solid "A." Here's what he had to say about the Vikings' draft class of 2015:

When you consider how much the Vikings improved, and that they should have had at least one playoff win, this rookie class looks even more impressive. Trae Waynes had his share of struggles, but you expect that from a rookie corner, and he'll get better. Eric Kendricks is a stud, and Danielle Hunter looks like an absolute steal. Stefon Diggs is a player I couldn't imagine falling so far during his final year at Maryland, but there he was in Round 5 and the Vikes got a steal. We'll see what becomes of T.J. Clemmings, but he's got some ability to work with. Even Edmond Robinson played well on special teams. Just a fantastic start for a class -- no way around it.

More specifically, Kiper named the Vikings' 2015 draft class the second-best in the National Football League, behind only the Washington Redskins.

That sounds pretty good to me, all things considered.

The other three teams in the NFC North got mixed results in Kiper's re-grading. The Green Bay Packers got their grade adjusted up from a "B" to an "A-minus." The Chicago Bears held steady with their "B-plus" grade from Kiper's initial hack, while the Detroit Lions were the only NFC North team that got a downgrade, moving from a "B" down to a "C-plus."

While much of the story of the Minnesota Vikings' 2015 draft class is still being written, at least they're off to a pretty good start.