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Tyler Forness

2024 NFL draft: Vikings mock draft roundup 5.0: QBs and EDGEs dominate

Mock draft season is upon us and that means our mock draft roundup is back!

What we do every week is track the mainstream outlets mock drafts and aggregate how many times a player gets selected. Last season, we tallied up 545 mock drafts and that included a whopping 54 different players. With the Minnesota Vikings set to pick 11th overall, there will be a lot of discussions surrounding the quarterbacks in this draft along with trading up.

We will track them and try to determine trends and patterns, along with giving my own analysis on how they could fit with the Vikings.

Mock Draft Roundup 4.0

Alabama CB Terrion Arnold

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler’s Scouting Report

Who:

Pro Football Network’s Tony Catalina
The Athletic’s Diante Lee
Pro Football Network’s Oliver Hodgkinson
Pro Football Network’s Tony Catalina (different from above)

Another selection in this 2024 NFL Mock Draft where taking the best player available makes the most sense. Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold is a popular selection for the Minnesota Vikings, and he lands in Minneapolis, Minn., once again.

Arnold has shown an ability to be comfortable in man or zone and has seemingly grown at the position every year in college. The best is yet to come for him, and a Vikings secondary that was carved up on occasion in 2023 may be the beneficiary of that development sooner rather than later.-Catalina

Texas DT Byron Murphy II

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Who:

The Draft Network’s Justin Melo

The Vikings must retain Danielle Hunter this offseason, either through a multi-year extension or the franchise tag. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must then add an interior pressure player to pair with Hunter. I’ve spoken with several league sources this week that possess a top-20 grade on Texas defensive tackle Byron Murphy II.-Melo

Iowa CB Cooper DeJean

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler’s Scouting Report

Who:

Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar

Assuming he’s fully healthy, Cooper DeJean is the best top defensive back in this draft and an immediate starter at either cornerback or safety for the Vikings.-Popejoy

Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy

USA Today Sports

Tyler’s Scouting Report

Who:

USA Today’s Nate Davis
Vikings Wire’s Tyler Forness

Should McCarthy go this high? That is a good question but it really doesn’t matter how high a player goes if it ends up being a hit. McCarthy has all the tools to be a great quarterback but there are questions that need to be answered.-Forness

Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler’s Scouting Report

Who:

The Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer

The Vikings can move on from Kirk Cousins and they learned quickly that neither Josh Dobbs nor Nick Mullens nor Jaren Hall could be any kind of real answer beyond short-term injury fill-in. The Kevin O’Connell Rams-like system calls for more of a strong pocket passer first, and the downfield arm and accuracy of Penix should be welcome to get for Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.-Iyer

Illinois Dt Jer'Zhan Newton

Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler’s Scouting Report

Who:

Saints Wire’s John Sigler
The 33rd Team’s Connor Livesay
CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso
Seahawks Wire’s Tim Weaver

Illinois DL Jer’Zhan Newton will be one of the most polarizing players in the 2024 NFL Draft. Despite his lack of size, Newton is one of the more disruptive defensive tackles in this class. Newton’s fit with Brian Flores and the Minnesota Vikings is ideal for a player who must be in the right position to succeed early in his career.-Livesay

LSU QB Jayden Daniels

Matthew Dobbins-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler’s Scouting Report

Who:

Pro Football Network’s Adam Caplan
Pro Football Network’s Joe Broback
Pro Football Network’s Wil Helms

Jayden Daniels is highly respected in the scouting world and is widely expected to be selected in the upper half of Round 1.

The Vikings only have only two quarterbacks under contract for next season (Jaren Hall and Nick Mullens), and neither is starter-worthy. Thus, it makes sense for Daniels to be the guy here.-Caplan

UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler’s Scouting Report

Who:

CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards
Bears Wire’s Alyssa Barbieri

Edge rusher is a very popular pick for Minnesota and will remain as such until it is learned whether Marcus Davenport and/or Danielle Hunter will return next season. Plus, D.J. Wonnum will be coming back from injury.-Edwards

Alabama EDGE Dallas Turner

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler’s Scouting Report

Who:

The Ringer’s Danny Kelly

With Danielle Hunter heading toward free agency, the Vikings look to bolster their defensive front. Turner’s a souped-up, flexible pass rusher who can be used to create havoc in Brian Flores’s defense.-Kelly

Florida State EDGE Jared Verse

Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler’s Scouting Report

Who:

NFL.com’s Eric Edholm
Touchdown Wire’s Jarrett Bailey

It’s no guarantee, of course, but if the Vikings can re-sign Kirk Cousins, addressing the defensive front might be the next order of business. I could see Minnesota adding multiple pieces up front, depending on what happens with another pending free agent in Danielle Hunter. Verse is an athletic tone-setter who would pass the Brian Flores test for toughness and aggression.-Edholm

Oregon QB Bo Nix

USA Today Sports

Tyler’s Scouting Report

Who:

Pro Football Network’s Owain Jones

With Cousins leaving in free agency, the Vikings must find their future at the position. They could be a candidate to trade up if anyone at the top is willing to negotiate. However, in this mock, they end up with Bo Nix.

Fans should prepare for Nix to be drafted much higher than many realize. At Oregon, he has been one of the top QBs in college football over the last two years and has the traits and experience that should allow him to slot straight in at the next level.-Jones

Overview

Through five weeks, we have collected 106 mock drafts with 16 different players being selected. This week alone, there were 23 mock drafts with the Vikings being mocked 11 different players.

Player Selections
EDGE Laiatu Latu 17
EDGE Jared Verse 15
DT Jer’Zhan Newton 14
QB Michael Penix Jr. 12
EDGE Dallas Turner 8
QB Jayden Daniels 5
CB Terrion Arnold 7
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry 6
CB Cooper DeJean 5
CB Nate Wiggins 3
QB J.J. McCarthy 3
EDGE Chop Robinson 2
QB Bo Nix 2
DT Byron Murphy II 2
OT Olu Fashanu 1
QB Drake Maye 1
Total 23

The Real Forno Show

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