Minnesota Sports Forum

Guard, Tackle, RB and DT would be the 4 main needs I would address. It would all come down to who's available when we pick. I would only dip outside that pool early if a top safety falls because I think Sendejo is a backup. 1 good season doesn't overwrite his poor play before that and also I'd like to take the missile off the field that keeps taking big shots on our other defensive backs. I swear he lands a big hit on one of our own guys at least once a game.

Word is Mixon might go in first round. That is good and bad for us. Good some drops down and bad he is being called the best RB in the stocked class. Kipper thinks he could go to GB or KC late in the first.

bleedspeed177 wrote:Word is Mixon might go in first round. That is good and bad for us. Good some drops down and bad he is being called the best RB in the stocked class. Kipper thinks he could go to GB or KC late in the first.

I'm intruiged by Mixon but if a team takes him 1st round good for them I guess. That seems risky based on my moderate fan research on the guy. That 4th year of a 1st round pick is nice for keeping a guy but you have to pay $$$ dearly to do it. I think taking him in the 2nd round is high as I would go. Maybe it drops another talented RB or player to the Vikings. I'm going with a good thing if another team picks him that high but I'm not certain on that stance.

It will be intersting. He is considered a top 5 back. I would say top 3 in my book and at the same tier as MCaffrey and Fournette. A level above Cook and Karama. I am not sure how big that second tier is and if one of the top 3 is not available in the second I would look at other positions.

Saw this mock for Vikings and if we went this route I would be seriously disappointed.

http://www.dailynorseman.com/2017/3/25/15060686/big-blue-view-seven-round-mock-minnesota

Round 2, Pick 48 - Dan Feeney, G, Indiana
After addressing the tackle positions in free agency, virtual Rick Spielman uses the Vikings' first selection to address the interior of the offensive line. Feeney is one of the top guards in this year's draft class, and is the first player in this mock that's listed as a guard to come off of the board. (There are some players that go before him that might not have defined positions but could end up at guard.) If Feeney was available at pick #48, he'd be a smart pick for Minnesota, and would probably slot in as the Day 1 starter at right guard. I have no problem with this selection.

Round 3, Pick 80 - Duke Riley, LB, Louisiana State
With the retirement of Chad Greenway, the Vikings look to grab his replacement with the first of their two third-round selections. Riley only started for one season at LSU, but was a pretty consistent producer and projects as a weakside linebacker in a 4-3 scheme like Minnesota's. Selecting someone like Riley would mean that the Vikings intend to keep Eric Kendricks in the middle linebacker role, and I assume that Riley would come off the field in nickel situations.

Round 3, Pick 86 (from Miami) - Chris Godwin, WR, Penn State
The Vikings have a pair of solid receivers in Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen, but as things stand right now they don't really have a guy that can stretch the field. That's the role that Godwin would play in the Minnesota offense should he wind up here. According to the folks from Pro Football Focus, Godwin had 14 catches for 504 yards and seven scores on passes that traveled 20 yards or more down the field. PFF also tells us that he's good at making contested catches, which is another dimension the Vikings' offense could use.

Round 4, Pick 121 - Ryan Glasgow, DT, Michigan
The defensive tackle situation for the Vikings is in a bit of flux. Sure, Linval Joseph is a monster, but Tom Johnson is coming off of an injury (and is getting older) and nobody knows for sure what's going on with Sharrif Floyd at this point, so this could be a priority position. Glasgow projects as more of a run stopper than a pass rushing threat at this point, but that's the sort of player Minnesota needs on the inside as a part of their tackle rotation. His brother, Graham, is a guard for the Detroit Lions, so this pick gives them the opportunity to meet up a couple of times a year.

Round 4, Pick 129 (from Miami) - Brad Kaaya, QB, Miami (FL)
Speaking of positions that are in flux, we have the quarterback situation. Sam Bradford is in the starter's chair right now, but that's about all we know. Nobody knows when or if Teddy Bridgewater will be back for sure, and the team has no idea what they have in Taylor Heinicke yet. So, grabbing a quarterback for backup/developmental purposes is something the Vikings are going to have to look at later in the draft. Kaaya isn't in the top tier of quarterbacks in this year's draft, but he does have some potential.

Fun fact: Kaaya's mother, Angela Means Kaaya, used to be an actress. You've probably seen her before. . .she played Felisha in the movie Friday. (As in, "Bye, Felisha.") That's how IMDB has Felisha spelled, anyway, so that's what I'm going with.

Round 5, Pick 160 - Avery Moss, DE, Youngstown State
The Vikings dip into the small school ranks with this pick, as they grab a former Nebraska Cornhusker that followed his coach, Bo Pelini, from Lincoln to Youngstown State. Part of the reason that he was a former Husker is. . .well, because Nebraska kicked him out after he was charged with public indecency and disturbing the peace. Other than that, I don't know a whole lot about Moss other than his stat line, which shows that he had 10 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss for Youngstown State in 2016. He sounds like someone the Vikings might think they could develop if his off-field issues have disappeared.

Round 6, Pick 199 - Tarik Cohen, RB, North Carolina A&T
It took a while, but this draft finally has the Vikings addressing their need at the running back position. I'll be honest. . .I'd probably have difficulty picking Cohen out of a two-person lineup consisting of him and my next door neighbor, so I don't know a whole lot about him. From what I can find about him on various scouting sites, he's a smaller back (like 5'6", 175 small) and sounds like he'd project as more of a change of pace/return specialist at the NFL level. With the signing of Latavius Murray, that might be the sort of back the Vikings are looking for to put in the backfield with Murray and Jerick McKinnon.

Round 7, Pick 232 - Jay Guillermo, C, Clemson
Minnesota finally gets back to the offensive line with their final pick in the draft. Guillermo was named to the AP-All Bowl team after his performance in Clemson's win over Ohio State, but beyond that there doesn't seem to be a whole lot out there about him. With the Vikings' offensive line issues and Joe Berger not getting any younger, it couldn't hurt to take a flyer on someone like Guillermo later on in the draft.

Overall, I don't think this is a bad collection of picks for the Vikings. I might like them to get a running back a little earlier than this projection does, and maybe another offensive lineman higher up in the draft, but overall I think this would be a decent draft for the Vikings if things materialized this way.

Good take on players that could be drafted in 1st that are projected later in the draft. They all look like sleepers for our pick. I love the safety's mentioned here. Both look like guess that might be able to play that hybrid S/LB role.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000793198/article/ask-5-wholl-be-firstround-surprise-of-2017-nfl-draft

March Madness is upon us and you can expect to hear the word "Cinderella" a few hundred times during the first few rounds of the tournament. Which under-the-radar team is going to make a deep run and surprise the college basketball world? I don't have a clue. However, I thought it would be fun to transfer that thought to the NFL draft. Who will be the surprise first-round pick in this year's draft class? That's a question I posed to five NFL personnel executives. Here are their answers.


Executive 1: N.C. State S Josh Jones
"For some reason Jones didn't get much attention during the season, but he has first-round ability. I think he'll definitely go in the top 40 picks and it wouldn't be crazy for some team to take him late in the first round."

Executive 2: East Carolina WR Zay Jones
"Zay Jones has crushed the postseason. He was one of the best players in Mobile (Senior Bowl) and he ran much faster than expected at the combine (4.45 40). He could sneak into the first round."

Executive 3: UConn S Obi Melifonwu
"I don't think many people thought the UConn safety could go this high during the fall. It wouldn't shock me at all if he landed in the first round."

Executive 4: USC CB Adoree' Jackson
"I'll say Adoree' Jackson. Yeah, he's short, but I love his confidence, character and explosive athleticism. That dude is a playmaker."

Executive 5: Washington CB Kevin King
"I liked him more than most guys but I never saw this spike coming. Also, my bonus name is Davis Webb. It wouldn't surprise me if someone traded into the back end of the first to take him."

Summary: That's one vote apiece for Josh Jones, Zay Jones, Melifonwu, Jackson and King.

Conclusion: These are some very intriguing players. I don't think it's a coincidence that four of the five players mentioned play in the secondary. This is the deepest pool of cornerbacks and safeties that I've seen in a very long time. Teams and individual evaluators will vary on how they have them stacked on their board. One team might have Adoree' Jackson as its No. 3 cornerback, while others might view him as the eighth-best player at his position. Zay Jones just keeps acing the postseason tests. His rocket started to take off at the Reese's Senior Bowl, and it hasn't slowed down.

What drive me a little crazy is this talk about the Vikings not having a guy that can stretch the field. Thielen is a 6'2" guy that ran a 4.5 40. Diggs ran a 4.45 or whatever. Thielen especially I think can be a guy that gets deep and let's not forget about the old man Jarius Wright who is no slow fart either as he ran a 4.25 40. Speed isn't the only thing that matters but still. The problem hasn't been as much the WR as it has been the QB and oline play. Proof? See: Wallace, Mike. Should the Vikings take a WR at some point in this draft? Sure they have at least one spot available for one but I don't see the absolute glaring need for a deep threat although it sure would be nice.

I am with you. I would rank WR pretty low on the priority list. It would rank behind OL, RB, and TE for me on offense. It is a strong draft for RB and TE. I would go that route first before WR.

bleedspeed177 wrote:I am with you. I would rank WR pretty low on the priority list. It would rank behind OL, RB, and TE for me on offense. It is a strong draft for RB and TE. I would go that route first before WR.

Plus you know there are always cheap vets out on the street you can sign also I saw somewhere they are looking at Rod Streeter.

I was shocked Charles Johnson got signed by Panthers. He was given every shot to make it here and failed year after year.