Two hundred and fifty-six. That is the number of players whose names were called during the seven rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Minnesota Vikings chose eight of those players but also took a deep look at the players who ended up as undrafted free agents.
Among those players who weren’t picked during the draft was Washington State defensive lineman Hercules Mata’afa. Despite being projected as a fifth to sixth round selection by NFL.com and listed as the 183rd best prospect by CBS Sports, teams struggled to find a fit for him in their defense and wound up signing with the Vikings.