The NFL’s regular season still has a handful of weeks left, but it’s never too early to start looking ahead towards the NFL draft. That’s exactly what The Athletic columnist Dane Brugler has done, dropping his first mock draft of the year.
In a departure from most mocks, Brugler has the Minnesota Vikings picking up some help on the defensive side of the ball, rather than sending them a quarterback like most prognosticators have at this point. With the 20th pick, Brugler has the Vikings grabbing Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton.
This pick may be a bit surprising to some who follow the college game and the NFL draft closely, as Newton isn’t necessarily seen as a consensus first-round selection — as Brugler points out in his analysis of the pick. Newton is considered by many to be undersized for the position, listed at just 6’2 and 295 pounds.
That makes the pick more confusing, as an undersized defensive tackle doesn’t necessarily fit what Brian Flores and the Vikings defense want to do in their 3-4 scheme. With that said, Flores has shown a propensity for finding spots for players who have talent, and using that talent to its fullest capability.
Newton would be an interesting fit for the Vikings defense, but if anyone could make it work, it would be Flores.
