The Minnesota Vikings season ended in unfortunate fashion with a 31-24 loss to the New York Giants in the Wild Card round on Sunday afternoon.
With the loss, the Vikings will end their 62nd season without a Super Bowl championship. The search for that championship starts today and that continues on with the SKOL Search series and the first mock draft of the season.
The draft order is derived from Tankathon and is updated as of 9:00 pm central time. The Miami Dolphins forefitted their pick, which would have been at the 21st overall selection. Down the line, I will be doing trades, but not with the first one of the year.
Get excited everyone, mock draft season is back!
1. Chicago Bears: Georgia DT Jalen Carter
The Bears defense is built upon having a successful three-technique on the defensive line and Carter is the most dominant player at the position since Ndamukong Suh. He will be a massive upgrade to the Bears defense.
2. Houston Texans: Alabama QB Bryce Young
The Texans benefit from the Bears already having their franchise quarterback and get one of their own in Bryce Young. While he is small, Young has a knack for making plays and doing so without the requisite surrounding talent.
3. Arizona Cardinals: Alabama EDGE Will Anderson
Anderson is arguably the best player in the class and tremendous off the edge. The Cardinals desperately need to find a way to generate a pass rush and Anderson has the talent to be a presidential player at the position.
4. Indianapolis Colts: Kentucky QB Will Levis
This will be a hotly debated prospect throughout the course of the draft process. Levis has a lot of raw tools but hasn’t been able to put it all together with any form of consistency. The Colts have been rumored to love Levis and they need a quarterback.
5. Seattle Seahawks: Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud
Stroud did what he needed to do against the Georgia Bulldogs: prove that he could operate outside of structure and make plays with his legs. The Seahawks do have Geno Smith, but being gifted a top-five pick while making the playoffs is something they should be taking advantage of.
6. Detroit Lions: Clemson DT Bryan Bresee
The Lions played extremely well this season but need to fortify the interior of their defensive line. With Alim McNeil having established himself, adding Bresee who plays a very similar style to J.J. Watt would be a tremendous addition.
7. Las Vegas Raiders: Ohio State OT Paris Johnson Jr.
The three quarterbacks I believe that the Raiders would be interested are gone by seven so they focus on fortifying the offensive line. Johnson Jr. has played both guard and tackle for the Buckeyes and he will immediately fortify a unit that needs immediate help.
8. Atlanta Falcons: Clemson EDGE Myles Murphy
The Falcons have quite a few needs as they continue to build out their roster but generating a pass rush is the priority. Murphy is a dynamic pass rusher that would help their pass rush immediately.
9. Carolina Panthers: Florida QB Anthony Richardson
The Panthers are in a better spot than most teams that fire their head coach halfway through the season. The infrastructure and talent is better than you initially realize and they can support a young quarterback. Richardson isn’t the most polished passer in the world, but he is a true playmaker with an insane set of tools that the Panthers will love to have.
10. Philadelphia Eagles: Penn State CB Joey Porter Jr.
The Eagles love press corners and it doesn’t get much better than Porter Jr. He is both large and physical at the line of scrimmage with the speed and athleticism to carry receivers down the field.
11. Tennessee Titans: USC WR Jordan Addison
My number two wide receiver in this class feels like a great complement to the first-round pick from last season Treylon Burks. They need to fortify the offensive line but with Taylor Lewan returning from injury, adding a receiver of this caliber is too much hard to pass up.
12. Houston Texans: TCU WR Quentin Johnston
When you draft your quarterback of the future, get him weapons. Johnston is a prototypical X-receiver that can do little bit of everything with the traits to keep growing at the next level.
13. New York Jets: Northwestern OT Peter Skoronski
The Jets had a lot of offensive line issues this past season and a lot of that was due to injuries. Adding a talent like Skoronski who can play everywhere and help the Jets create their best five.
14. New England Patriots: Texas Tech EDGE Tyree Wilson
Wilson could go as early as three but he slides in this mock draft. The Patriots would love to add Wilson, who is a large, physical player that likely fits best as a five-technique. The Patriots would be able to use him like Richard Seymour and have fun with their stud pass rushers on the outside.
15. Green Bay Packers: Georgia CB Kelee Ringo
The Packers struggled this season in the secondary, especially at the safety position. Ringo is a cornerback by trade but his size and profile could lead him to be a great safety. Even so, the Packers prioritize cornerback and Ringo would be a good complement to Jaire Alexander.
16. Washington Commanders: Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon
Witherspoon is a favorite of many analysts around. He is fast, decisive and hits hard. He is smaller than the rest of the top cornerbacks in this class, but Witherspoon makes up for it with his ball skills.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers: Oregon CB Christian Gonzalez
The Steelers have multiple needs and they attack one of them here. Gonzalez is a big corner that has the ability to play in any scheme.
18. Detroit Lions: South Carolina CB Cam Smith
The Lions continued to solidify their defense with a defensive tackle and get a flexible cornerback in Cam Smith. With the ability to play both in the slot and on the outside, Smith will help the Lions field an improved defense.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Utah CB Clark Phillips III
The Buccaneers have both Jamel Dean and Sean Murphy-Bunting set to hit free agency and the selection of Phillips III gives them a corner that play both inside and outside.
20. Seattle Seahawks: WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Smith-Njigba is a very savvy receiver that I have lower in my rankings because I have real concerns about his speed and athletic profile, especially without getting a free release consistently.
21. Los Angeles Chargers: Boston College WR Zay Flowers
The Chargers struggled both creating separation and staying healthy at the receiver position. Enter Zay Flowers who can do both and do it well. My comp for him is Emmanuel Sanders and that will be a huge benefit to Justin Herbert.
22. Baltimore Ravens: North Carolina WR Josh Downs
The Ravens desperately need receivers who can separate and Downs is among the best in the class. While slightly smaller, he reminds me a lot of former Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs with his movements and explosiveness.
23. Minnesota Vikings: LSU WR Kayshon Boutte
The last game for the Vikings proved that they really need a second wide receiver opposite of Justin Jefferson. The LSU connection reigns supreme here as they go back to the bayou for Boutte who can do a little bit of everything and excels in space.
24. Jacksonville Jaguars: Florida G O'Cyrus Torrence
The Jaguars need to protect Trevor Lawrence and what better way to do so than draft an offensive lineman who only allowed his quarterback to get hit once and 25 total pressures in 1,501 pass-blocking reps. He will immediately fortify the interior of the offensive line.
25. New York Giants: Clemson LB Trenton Simpson
The Giants have done a great job getting to the divisional round with limited talent. Their second level desperately needs a boost and they get that with Simpson who can do a little bit of everything.
26. Dallas Cowboys: Oregon LB Noah Sewell
The Cowboys have always beat to their own drum when it comes to the NFL draft and they have a need at linebacker with the continued injuries to Leighton Vander Esch. Sewell can be a run-stopper and pass rusher along with playing in coverage. He is the perfect modern-day linebacker.
27. Cincinnati Bengals: Notre Dame EDGE Isaiah Foskey
The Bengals are sitting in a really good spot with their roster and they re-up on the pass rush with Isaiah Foskey. An extremely productive and athletic pass rusher, Foskey can sit behind Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson and rotate in.
28. Denver Broncos: Georgia OT Broderick Jones
The Broncos got this pick by trading Bradley Chubb and they need to find a way to maximize their investment in Russell Wilson. Broderick Jones is a hyper-athletic tackle where the sky is the limit.
29. Buffalo Bills: Texas RB Bijan Robinson
The Bills drafting another running back in the top 96 doesn’t make sense in a vacuum, but Bijan Robinson isn’t an ordinary running back. He does a little bit of everything with explosiveness, power and shifty feet. He could take the Bills offense to a new level.
30. Kansas City Chiefs: Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer
The Chiefs are in a position where they need to look at the future at the tight end position. Travis Kelce is on the wrong side of 30 and Michael Mayer is one of the best tight end prospects in some time. He will be able to learn from the best in the league without being put into a position where he has to produce right away.
31. Philadelphia Eagles: Oklahoma OT Anton Harrison
The Eagles invested a top pick Joey Porter Jr. and they doubled down with the right tackle of the future in Anton Harrison. Lane Johnson consistently gets injured and will need to replace him eventually and doing so with two first-round picks is a great way to do it.
