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.
Alabama CB Terrion Arnold
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
Who:
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
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
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 |
