2021 NFL Draft: Minnesota Vikings 7-round mock

Round 5

If I were going to tab a steal of the 2021 draft in mid-February, it would be Stearns and in this mock spin he was here for the Vikings to take. He opted out of the rest of the Longhorns’ 2020 season in early December, with 52 total tackles in seven games along with one interception, three pass breakups and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Sterns was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe award as a true freshman in 2018, before a knee injury set him back in 2019. He’s easy to project as a big corner as he heads to the next level, at 6-foot-1, 207 pounds, but the Vikings find an easy fit regardless of position here.

The Vikings likely aren’t replacing Kirk Cousins this year, but it’s safe to say they need to form a plan to do so down the road. Veteran backups and late-round draft picks who are no threat to take over aren’t cutting it.

Buechele started his college career a Texas, before Sam Ehlinger gradually replaced him and he transferred to SMU as a graduate. Over two seasons as the Mustangs’ quarterback, he threw for more than 7,000 yards (8.2 yards per attempt) with 57 touchdown passes and 16 interceptions. His physical tools are not outstanding, but he is accurate within the pocket with good field vision and ability to operate when under duress.

Beuchele may not be a future NFL star. But the Vikings need to take a shot on a quarterback atin a draft one of these years. If not earlier than this, here is a spot to consider putting a young signal caller into the pipeline.

Round 6

Running back is not a great need for the Vikings, with Dalvin Cook not going anywhere as the lead back. But a surprising chunk of mock drafts give them a late-round back right now, and I jumped on Mitchell here.

A 10-game season put a lid on Mitchell’s production in 2020 (878 rushing yards), but he continued his nose for the end zone with eight scores on the ground. He has 16 total touchdowns in 2018 (13 rushing touchdowns, three receiving) and 16 rushing touchdowns in 2019, with over 1,100 yards in the latter campaign.

There’s a strong case for reducing Cook’s workload a bit going forward. Mitchell could compete right away for those backup reps with Alexander Mattison, Mike Boone, etc.

Round 7

Another secondary piece feels superfluous here, to be sure. But Thompson is a versatile safety/slot corner combo with ability to be a factor against the run (210 total tackles,11 tackles for loss in his college career) as well as in man or zone coverage (11 interceptions, 23 pass breakups at San Diego State).

Thompson could be a special teams contributor right away, with a possible path to a bigger role down the road. In any case, he’s a worthy seventh-round flier.