Call it a hunch or call it a gamble, but the Vikings spent the Round 3 slot on Parker Brailsford, a name most had 37 spots down the list.

Whatever Fernando Mendoza becomes, the front office has tied its fortunes to the answer. Overpaying at the table undid a lot of the good work elsewhere. If this class has a fault line, it runs straight through edge rusher.

The bill for those future picks comes due whether the class hits or not.

There is no soft landing here; this class has to massively overperform just to matter.