Minnesota Vikings full 2018 mock draft

The Vikings were winners of the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes, but now must look to protect their $84 million investment in the 2018 NFL Draft.

The Minnesota Vikings fell short of a Super Bowl appearance last season, but landed the biggest trophy of free agency in quarterback Kirk Cousins. With a loaded defense and the return of star running back Dalvin Cook, Minnesota looks poised to make another title run next season.

So, without further ado, here’s how the Vikings could address their needs in the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft.

1st round

With their new $84 million man under center in Kirk Cousins, the Vikings will likely explore a number of options for protecting him early on in this draft. The interior of the Minnesota offensive line is due for an upgrade and one player who makes a lot of sense at the end of the first round is Ohio State’s Billy Price.

Price is one of the most underrated offensive line prospects in this entire draft class and there’s a chance he may be snatched up even earlier than No. 30. If he’s on the board, however, expect general manager Rick Spielman to not hesitate to add Price to the Vikes’ roster.

The Vikings selected Price’s teammate, Pat Elflein, in the second round of last year’s draft. Elflein performed admirably at center as a rookie and sliding Price on either side at guard would give Minnesota a good, young core on the interior. Price has excellent athleticism and the type of nasty demeanor that you love to see out of offensive lineman. He was also extremely durable during his career with the Buckeyes, starting 55 consecutive games, tying the aforementioned Elflein’s school record.

Good news for Vikings fans? It already seems that Minnesota has a fair amount of interest in Price based on this photo from Ohio State Pro Day:

Price can get a bit sloppy with his technique and play out of control at times, but both of those issues figure to be ones that have a chance to be corrected at the next level. His athleticism, strength, and awareness should make him an immediate starter at the next level and getting Price at the end of the first round would be a steal for Minnesota.