[ad_1]
After a disappointing 7-9 season, most of the people who follow the Minnesota Vikings have decided to look forward to the draft – me included. I decided to fake my own seven round draft with trades using the Pro Football Network draft simulator and explain what I would do if I was Rick Spielman and the board fell that way.
Choice 14: Trade
I had to make an important decision after seeing the painting unfold as it did. Am I looking to trade and hope to land one of the elite offensive linemen still on board, or take a player right now and look to pack picks to pass later?
After lining up offers from multiple teams, I decided to take the Arizona Cardinals’ offer and drop two spots to 16 and, in the process, get a second round pick for the 90 pick. realized that everything would be fine if I got anyone. fell between Rashawn Slater and Christian Darrisaw. I was also looking forward to reclaiming a second round pick the Vikings lost in Yannick Ngakoue’s trade earlier last season.
The Vikings send picks 14 and 90 to the Cardinals in exchange for No.16 and 49.
Choice 16: Christian Darrisaw, occupational therapist, Virginia Tech
After my trade, the Cardinals used the 14th pick to select Rashawn Slater. I was sweating in the 15th pick, but luckily for me, the New England Patriots took Gregory Rousseau.
While the top two players on my field (Caleb Farley and Jaycee Horn) were corners, I decided to grab an offensive lineman because it’s a pressing need that the front office has overlooked in the past.
Darrisaw is the perfect left tackle for the outside zone system the Vikings lead. He is athletic and very mobile, two qualities sought after by linemen. He’s not only a good running blocker, but he’s also exceptional when it comes to pass protection. Its only real flaw is sometimes that it gets beaten by the power of the defensive end, but that’s the trade-off you have to make when running an outside zone system.
He’ll likely force Riley Reiff off the list, saving space with the amount of unsecured money Reiff is owed.
Here’s how the rest of the tour went:
Pick 49: Jayson Oweh, DE, Penn State
With the offensive line tackled in the first round, I decided to improve the other side of the trenches by taking Oweh.
The Vikings’ pass rush in 2020 was the worst in history under Mike Zimmer, finishing 28th in the sacks. Much of this was that Danielle Hunter was out all season, but that position has yet to be corrected.
Oweh is a physical monster. He can run a 4.33 40-yard dash and has a vertical jump that peaks at 36.5 inches to complete his 6-foot-5, 252-pound frame. I know, Oweh finished the season bagless despite starting in seven games. However, his win rate (18%) was one of the highest in the Big 10, and he recorded career numbers in tackles (38) and tackles-for-loss (6.5).
He’s also improved in the face of the race this season, which the Vikings defensive end struggled with last season. With a little coaching from Andre Patterson, Oweh could terrorize opposing quarterbacks for years to come, forming a deadly duo with Hunter.
He probably wouldn’t contribute much to his rookie season, probably playing in rotation on the line, but I think that pick can help a bit now and a lot in the future.
Choice 78: D’Wayne Eskridge, WR, Western Michigan
The Vikings need a better third receiver. Chad Beebe is a safety valve that can only work out of the slot; Minnesota needs to look for someone who can make a great game.
Eskridge is one of the greatest gems of this class. His draft was hampered by his height (5’9 “, 190 pounds), and because he’s from a MAC school. But he can play. He played in the Senior Bowl, and with his ability to getting up in the air and playing with the ball, its size shouldn’t be a big factor either.
Eskridge recorded 21.5 yards per catch last year, stretching the field at will. His speed allows him to go their separate ways, and he could be a problem for opposing teams for years to come with the racing advice he gets from receiver coach Keenan McCardell, Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson.
Bringing him here might ignore other needs like security or guard, but if the Vikings want to have a more explosive attack, they need to make a big investment at the receiver level.
Pick 113: Tyree Gillespie, S, Missouri
Despite the insane amount of broad talent on the board practically begging me to take another catcher, I decided to make the safe choice and grab a safe. With Anthony Harris likely to leave, the draft could be the perfect place to catch his replacement.
Gillespie is a sure tackle who finished with 50 tackles, including four for loss. He’s able to play the run, but he’s more comfortable as a simple safety, occupying the midfield on deeper passes. He also finished this season with seven breakouts and finished as the second highest level of security in the entire SEC, per PFF.
He would likely slip into the starting safety role, playing the deep middle part of the pitch as Harris often does, allowing Harrison Smith to play closer to the line of scrimmage.
Choice 119: Chuba Hubbard, RB, OSU
Yes, I understand that the Vikings have one of the best running backs in the league with Dalvin Cook, and position isn’t that necessary. But I picked up Hubbard here because of my concerns about Cook’s health next season.
We have seen many times that Cook walked off the field looking a little shaken. Yes, Alexander Mattison is more than enough of a replacement, but his skills are so different from Cook’s that I don’t think he could manage to pull off the majority of litters while Cook is out.
Hubbard appears to be an absolute dream in the outside area diagram with his speed and ability to make cuts when needed to hit the hole. He’s also a very patient runner who waits for the hole to grow before hitting it. He could serve as a lightning bolt to Mattison’s thunder if the Vikings were to play without Cook for an extended period.
Choice 128: Jaylen Twyman, DT, Pitt
The Vikings have not had a consistent player to fill the role of 3 techniques since Shariff Floyd’s early retirement. Shamar Stephen had been offered the spot on several occasions but failed to impress. Given Minnesota’s noticeable inability to get consistent pressure, I think it’s high time for them to try and take a player with high potential to fill the void.
With how crazy this year has been with COVID opt-outs and no combination, we might see players with first-round talent move on to the third and fourth rounds. I think Twyman could be one of those guys: he retired after an impressive second season where he recorded 10.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss.
The move hurt him in the short term as the recency bias allowed players like Daviyon Nixon and Christian Barmore to get ahead of him in the defensive tackle rankings. However, he could still potentially be an exceptional passer alongside Michael Pierce.
Pick 144: Drake Jackson, IOL, Kentucky
Jackson is not expected to start this season, and the draft should not allow the Vikings to return to the offensive line during the offseason. But hopefully Jackson will provide cover at guard and center positions as a piece of adequate depth. Hopefully Jackson’s writing will get the Vikings out of Dakota Dozier and Dru Samia.
He’s athletic enough to play the goalie in the outside zone diagram and is a very good communicator with his offensive line colleague when taking blitzes at the second level. He should be well deep behind Garrett Bradbury and Ezra Cleveland.
The main problem I have with Jackson is his arm length. He’s constantly being pushed by longer opponents who can use their long arms to expose his weaknesses, but in an outer zone scheme you sometimes have to sacrifice power for mobility.
Pick 158: Israel Mukuamu, CB, South Carolina
The Vikings need depth at the cornerback. While Gladney and Dantzler have lived up to their potential as rookies, the future at the third corner is uncertain. Mike Hughes has been unable to play for a full season due to neck and ACL injuries for the past three seasons.
Mukuamu is perhaps the most overlooked player of this whole class. While all the attention has been on teammate Jaycee Horn, Mukuamu is playing some great football.
At 6’4 ″, he has all the traits Zimmer likes about his corner-backs, with his long arms allowing him to play press coverage on opposing gaps. Mukuamu was considered a potential first-round pick last year, but he was hampered by a hamstring injury in 2020, forcing him to play it safe for part of the season.
Mukuamu has excellent ball skills. In South Carolina’s game against Georgia two years ago, Mukuamu finished with three interceptions on Jake Fromm, including one for a pick-six and another that established the game’s winning basket in overtime.
He’s also a strong defender against the run, enveloping ball carriers and bringing them to the ground.
Choice 178: Paris Ford, S, Pitt
I don’t know how Ford fell so low. In my opinion, it is the second best security in its class. It is a gift to n ° 178.
Ford is 6’0 ” tall and weighs 190 pounds, but don’t let its small frame fool you. He loves throwing punitive shots at ball carriers, flying across the field at breakneck speed. While Ford typically tunes in on those tough tackles, he sometimes breathes them in, letting the ball carrier free himself on the pitch.
He’s also amazing in passing coverage. Ford showed up in his second season in a red shirt, registering 14 pass breakouts and three steals. He was excellent at zonal coverage, covering a lot of ground with his speed, disrupting passing lanes and forcing quarterbacks to pass through incredibly tight windows.
He uses his incredible game recognition skills in tandem with his blazing speed to reach the ball carrier and take him to the ground. Much like a linebacker, Ford can play from sideline to sideline, covering almost every blade of grass if necessary.
Pick 208: Cary Angeline, TE, NC State
With Kyle Rudolph’s era likely coming to an end, it seems appropriate to grab a late tight end to add depth to the position.
At 6’7 ”Angeline’s frame is safety cover versus zonal cover, and he’s a decent wide receiver who is mostly a red zone target. It doesn’t have an extended route tree, but it is able to use its size when running routes it knows about.
He is shaping up to be a swing tackle that is excellent in both running and passing protection. With the Vikings’ longstanding issues, adding an extra blocker can’t hurt. He could potentially be to Kirk Cousins what CJ Ham is to Dalvin Cook.
[ad_2]
Source link