How will the Minnesota Vikings build their 2021 NFL Draft class?
The Minnesota Vikings were dreadfully average last season. After a 1-5 start to the season, they fought back to get into playoff contention before running out of steam at the end of the season. They are bringing most of the main pieces back, which includes head coach Mike Zimmer and starting quarterback Kirk Cousins. There’s a lot of holes on this roster, but there is a good building block to put together a playoff team.
The NFL Draft is where the Vikings will put together a foundation for now and the future. They have plenty of those flashy players (Justin Jefferson and Adam Theilen make up one of the best wide receiver duos in the league. Dalvin Cook is the best running back.), but they need players who do the right thing without getting the stats. Their draft might look boring on the surface, but it’s exactly what they need.
Minnesota Vikings Seven-Round Mock Draft
Round 1
Going for a defensive lineman isn’t going to get Vikings fans out of their seat, but it’s the move they need to make. Christian Barmore is someone who will do all those small things as a big-bodied defensive tackle at an expert level. He can split double teams, wasting two blockers on running plays. He can rush the passer. There are plays that he makes a bigger impact than an outside rusher.
Barmore has a lot of different moves thanks to having really good hands. His rips, swims, and swipes get him into the backfield with some quickness. There’s a reason he was named the defensive MVP of the National Championship Game. On the biggest stage, he put up two tackles for a loss and a sack against the Ohio State Buckeyes and Justin Fields.
Barmore is a little bit of a risk at 14, since a lot of his production came this season, but his jump is almost unprecedented for a defensive tackle. He finished off as hot as anyone in the country at any position. He was unstoppable in the College Football Playoff.
Round 2
The Minnesota Vikings let Riley Reiff and his massive salary go right before free agency began, and that left a huge hole on the left side of the offensive line. The Vikings have some intriguing internal options to replace Reiff at left tackle. Ezra Cleveland was drafted last season. He spent years as a left tackle with Boise State, so he could make the move pretty easily, but that would put a pretty big hole at the guard position where he played last season.
This is where another Cleveland comes into play. Ben Cleveland is one of the best guards in the draft, and he could fall to the Vikings late in the second round. The Georgia lineman didn’t get a lot of recognition while he was at Georgia, but he has one of the best talent levels of anyone at his position.
Cleveland is one of those players that would likely see himself jump to the first round or close to it if there was an NFL Combine. He had a really good pro day, and it has people talking about what he can do in the NFL. If that was on national television and covered by major sports channels, the chatter would be much louder.
Ben Cleveland can jump into the left guard position now, as Dakota Dozier is likely going to play somewhere else next season. This gives the Vikings a very young and skilled offensive line to play in front of Cousins.
Round 3
The Vikings watched as Kyle Rudolph fell off a cliff over the last few seasons. He failed to break 400 yards in each of the past two seasons, and he never really hit the peaks that some of the others at the position were able to hit. So, the Vikings cut Rudolph and will now move on at the tight end position.
Irv Smith Jr. is currently the number-one guy on the depth chart for the Vikings. He’s not a terrible option, but the Vikings would do well with more than just Smith at the position. Brevin Jordan would be a really good option for them in the draft.
Jordan is someone who kept getting better at the University of Miami, and he became a touchdown machine with D’Eriq King under center this past season. He scored seven times in eight games. He finished his college career with two touchdowns and 96 yards against Oklahoma State. His season, while short, was awesome.
Jordan is actually a really good blocking prospect, as well. He could be one of the steals of the draft here at pick 90. The Vikings don’t have a clear need at the tight end position, but Jordan is the type of talent that falls right into your lap. That could completely change how the Vikings offense operates. He could make the Vikings’ skill positions the best group in the entire league.
Round 4
The Vikings could use some depth at the linebacker position. They have a great middle linebacker in Eric Kendricks, but it’s hard to look at Monty Rice and let someone else draft him. He was really good at Georgia, and he could develop into a really good player. He gets to the football very quickly, and he can get through traffic despite being just slightly undersized. The Vikings have four picks in the fourth round, so getting depth across the roster is crucial. Rice is going to be someone who can make some impacts right away, but in a few years, he could be really good.
The 2021 safety class is one of the hardest classes to pick apart, which could mean a player here or there falls way down in the draft. This is Talanoa Hufanga. He’s great with the playbook, and he can adjust on the fly to make a big play. He can slip into an NFL strong safety position in the right scheme. Obviously, the Vikings have Harrison Smith, but Hufanga could easily play in nickel and dime packages. He could also fight for the free safety position to play on run downs. He’s an insane tackler, putting up double-digit tackles in 11 games in his career. He’ll be a great piece to play next to Smith, and they play such a similar type of style, it will really take away the field at the third level.
The Vikings still need more depth on the offensive line after losing Reiff and Dozier this offseason. They have pieces, but moving people around will hurt the depth at the position. They need young bodies in case someone gets hurt. Christensen was protecting the blind side of possible second-overall pick Zach Wilson at BYU, and he played very well. He’s not NFL-ready tomorrow, but he has the ability to turn into a great tackle within a year or two. The Vikings would be smart to look forward and make Christensen a project that could make them better for years to come.
Chauncey Golston is a disrupting force on the edge that has the size and speed to really make a difference at the next level. So, why is he available at the 144th pick? He has a slight issue when he doesn’t get off the ball faster than the lineman he’s facing. If hands get on him, then he has trouble making a move. It’s not always a problem, because he usually fires the second the snap comes off the ground. That kind of speed is hard to teach. Learning new moves is a lot easier. The Vikings could take him here, use him on passing downs, and develop him into an everyday defensive end over time.
Round 5
The Vikings could really use a receiver behind Jefferson and Theilen. Bisi Johnson is currently in line to be the third receiver on the team. He’s fine as a depth player, but he leaves a lot to be desired. Some might want to take a receiver earlier in the draft, but there is a lot of nice depth pieces at the position. Amari Rodgers is very undersized, but he feels like the perfect receiver to get behind a defense while they focus on the other receivers. He is great in the slot, and he showed at Clemson he can catch just about anything. It makes sense as an option for the Vikings at this point in the draft.
The quarterback position outside of the first round is interesting, but not great. There are names that make a lot of sense for fliers, including Jamie Newman, Kyle Trask, and Kellen Mond. However, in terms of raw talent, Feleipe Franks is a prospect that might be worth a flier. Franks played last season for Arkansas after a devastating leg injury while he was the starting QB for the Florida Gators. He looked fine last season, but he didn’t have the pieces around him to make it work. Coming to Minnesota and playing behind Kirk Cousins could help Franks, who also plays a very safe game while trying not to make mistakes. He only had four interceptions in the SEC last season and broke the Arkansas record for completion percentage.
Round 6
Most will say the Vikings should be addressing cornerback well before the sixth round, but the way the board fell, it never made a ton of sense. Instead, they go for value here and a mid-major cornerback that could grow into something special. This past season, Shemar Jean-Charles led the nation in pass deflections. He’s a two year starter for Appalachian State that grew every year he was on campus. He’s a little older, but he still can grow into something really good and can make a play on key downs at the next level.
Obviously, when a team has Dalvin Cook on the roster, backup running backs aren’t a necessity, but this is a luxury for new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. Brenden Knox was dominant at Marshall University. He won Most Valuable Player for Conference USA thanks to an 11-touchdown season in nine games. He’s able to break plays wide open, and can run into a pile and come out the other side. He’s not elusive like other running backs in this class, but his north-south running style will be a good compliment to what the Vikings already have.
Round 7
The Cincinnati defense is one of those units that gets underrated nationally despite just how well they played last season. The Bearcats were in the top ten for most of last season, and Darrick Forrest helped run a defense that kept them there. Forrest makes smart plays on the field all the time. He also takes really good angles to the ball. That will work well for the special teams role he’s going to have to start his career. He could play on all units, and the Vikings might be getting one of the better all-around special teams dynamos in the last round of the draft.