Vikings GM Spielman on draft: We got a bunch of guys 'who love to play the game'

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - It was a busy draft weekend for Vikings general manager Rick Spielman.

When he wasn't on the phone working trades with other teams, he was drafting a record 15 players for Minnesota.

Starting on the outside, the Vikings took LSU's Justin Jefferson, a wide receiver who will help replace Stefon Diggs, with their first first-round selection before trading back taking defensive back Jeff Gladney with pick 31.

Over the next two days, the team made 13 more picks, with the emphasis seeming to be on improving the offensive and defensive lines along with the secondary.

Speaking Sunday, Spielman seemed please with how everything shook out. In an interview, he said while the team considered a lot when making picks, one of the key things they looked for in players is how much they loved playing.

Spielman says he's looking for guys who love to show up every day and, this year, he thinks they got a load of them.

"We want to have guys in this building, that we build this roster with, that love to play the game," said Spielman. "They are high intangible kids, they pass our intelligence test... But when you get to this level, you better love to play the game or you're going to get eaten up."

"It's too competative," he added. "There's too many people trying to take each other's jobs. If you don't love the job you do, the more likely you aren't going to have great success at it. And when you can get a bunch of guys like that, who love to play like that, you have a pretty good chance at hitting on these guys to have success."