With the first Sunday without football gone, there are only 28 more Sundays to go before the start of the regular season. That 28 becomes a dauntingly high number the more you look at it, so to help mitigate that, we are only one Sunday away from the NFL Scouting Combine, a showcase of over 320+ draft prospects as they look to hear their name called in the 2024 NFL Draft from April 25th-27th (9 Sundays away for those counting).
As we barrel forward into the off-season, there has been an abundance of draft pundits and analysts, ourselves over at Vikings Wire included, that have tried to fit the perfect player with their respective teams. In Tyler Forness’ recent mock draft roundup, he finds the results for the Minnesota Vikings and their projected prospect in 175 mock drafts up to this point, leading to some entertaining results.
Over these 175 data points, 19 players have projected to become Vikings at six unique positions, bringing a different skill set to the purple and gold with each selection. With this, I break down the results and make sense of the limitless possibilities for Minnesota and their 11th pick in this year’s draft.
Please see the evolution of these mock draft roundups below:
Mock Draft Roundup 1.0
Mock Draft Roundup 2.0
Mock Draft Roundup 3.0
Mock Draft Roundup 4.0
Mock Draft Roundup 5.0
Mock Draft Roundup 6.0
Mock Draft Roundup 7.0
Pass rush rules
Of the 175 mocks, almost half of them (87) had four players headed to Minnesota, and they all have one thing in common: they can rush the passer well.
The top spot belongs to Florida State’s Jared Verse (27). At 6’4, 253 pounds, the Florida State edge rusher started this college football season as the top edge rusher and has a good argument for keeping the distinction, as his nine sacks helped lead the Seminoles to a top-ten defense in 2024.
Alabama’s Dallas Turner (23) and UCLA’s Laiatu Latu (21) are second and third as they continue to vie for the top edge rusher spot. Turner and Latu were two of only 15 players to end the season with double-digit sacks, with Latu ending the season tied for fourth in the country with 13.
The fourth player is the most compelling of the four options: Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton (16). Newton is one of few players on the interior of the defensive line who can consistently push the pocket, and his ability allows him to be an asset all along the defensive line.
With the questions in the edge rushing department, from Danielle Hunter to Marcus Davenport, adding help to get to the quarterback has been the most viable option. Other options are Texas’ Byron Murphy II (3) and Penn State’s Chop Robinson (2).
Quarterbacks galore
Minnesota doesn’t have a clear plan at the quarterback position, making them liable to every scenario possible to give them a franchise guy in this loaded class of signal-callers.
Each of the top six quarterbacks in this draft has been mocked to be in purple and gold. Even USC’s Caleb Williams (1) couldn’t keep away from putting on a Vikings jersey.
The two quarterbacks at the top were a retread of this year’s National Championship game: Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. (13 each). Penix was the fan-favorite among quarterbacks as he led the country in passing yards and led one of the most explosive offenses in college football. McCarthy requires a bit more creativity since Michigan utilized a run-heavy attack to win the national championship last season. McCarthy shows off some traits that could endear him to scouts and coaches alike, like his ball placement, ability to maneuver in and out of the pocket, the intangibles, etc.
The quarterback with the third-most traction was LSU’s Jayden Daniels (8). If the Vikings decide to get aggressive for one of the top three quarterbacks, the most logical option would be Daniels. LSU was the only team in the country with 300+ passing yards and 200+ rushing yards a game, and that started with the dual-threat Daniels.
Other than Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye (2) was another player Minnesota had to trade up. Williams and Maye are more far-fetched options but could find their ways to being Vikings if Minnesota is aggressive enough.
The sixth quarterback got the fourth-most votes in Oregon’s Bo Nix (4). This pick depends on your opinion of the soon-to-be 23-year-old. Nix led Oregon to the top passing offense and had the second-most passing yards in the country while maintaining a completion percentage of 77.4%, first among quarterbacks with 100+ attempts.
Could it be a corner?
With the talent on offense, Minnesota could have their pick on the defensive side of the ball, and that includes the cornerback position. The Vikings allowed the ninth-most passing yards, highest completion percentage and the seventh-highest passer rating in the NFL. The talent on the backend has to improve, and that first round is a perfect opportunity.
The corner that has the most traction is Alabama’s Terrion Arnold (14). At 6’0”, 196 pounds, Arnold has an ideal build for an outside corner. Arnold pairs this frame with sound technique and footwork that keeps him in position to make a play on the ball. He ties for the SEC lead in both interceptions with five and pass deflections with 12.
The next corner is a more intriguing fit in Flores’ defense, given his versatility: Iowa’s Cooper DeJean (11). DeJean can be a Swiss army knife on the right defense, and nobody uses their weapons quite like Flores does. DeJean’s athleticism makes him a tantalizing prospect for this unorthodox defense.
Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry (8), Clemson’s Nate Wiggins (5) and Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell (2) were all given to the Vikings as the respective top cornerbacks on the board. Mitchell and his fit with Flores is the most fun because he played a zone-heavy scheme at Toledo.
Miscellaneous
There were two unconventional picks for the Vikings, including one from our very own Chris Spooner.
Spooner had Minnesota take Penn State’s Olu Fashanu in a scenario where the four top quarterbacks go off in the top eight, and the Vikings still look to add a difference-maker on offense.
The New York Post’s Steve Serby went even bolder and decided that with the loss of T.J. Hockenson for the start of the season, O’Connell goes best player available and took Georgia’s Brock Bowers.
