Minnesota Vikings full 2021 NFL mock draft

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.