After the combine, major draft media publications have updated their rankings and have doled out new players for nearly every team — the Minnesota Vikings included.
Last time, media mock drafts were adamant about giving the Vikings an offensive tackle, opting to slide Mike Remmers inside to guard. While they weren’t shy about it this time around, they were a lot more willing to consider guards and defensive tackles — with 26.3 percent of them considering an interior defender, up from 10 percent last time.
We looked at 19 mock drafts published by major media outlets since the NFL combine started on Feb. 27, and January’s favorite Vikings picks — tackles Kolton Miller from UCLA and Mike McGlinchey from Notre Dame — went too early this time around for the Vikings to be able to pick them in many mocks.
This time, Billy Price, a guard from Ohio State and Maurice Hurst, a defensive tackle from Michigan, dominated the mock drafts. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report had this to say:
A heart condition found at the combine prohibited Hurst from working out for scouts and puts a question mark on his scouting report for the time being. If he’s healthy, the Michigan pass-rusher is a first-rounder and could be a steal at this phase of the first round.
The Vikings defense is already one of the NFL’s best but could use more of a pass rush up the middle—which is every quarterback’s worst nightmare. Throwing Hurst in the middle of an already strong front seven would make it impossible for quarterbacks to escape while also keeping the current tackles fresh in a strong rotation.
Hurst was one of the most productive pass rushers in the FBS last year, ranking first overall in Pro Football Focus’ Pass Rusher Productivity statistic among all interior defenders with at least 200 pass rush attempts. With 45 total pressures, no interior defender did more to disrupt the quarterback than Hurst did last year.
The analysts picking Price also mentioned that he would be a combine faller for medical reasons, though that shouldn’t stop the Vikings — who would have Price ready by the time training camp starts and can pair him with former Ohio State teammate Pat Elflein. Todd McShay at ESPN brought up the connection in his most recent mock draft:
Minnesota had great success with 2017 third-round pick Pat Elflein, so they go back to the Buckeyes well here. Price tore his pec at the combine and underwent surgery, but he should be fine for training camp. He’s an experienced starter with great character, and could be an immediate upgrade.
Before the combine, 50 percent of mock drafts gave the Vikings a tackle and 75 percent of mock drafts stuck with an offensive line pick overall. This time around, only 31.6 percent gave the Vikings an offensive tackle and 63.2 percent stuck with the offensive line. The remaining 10.5 percent who did not pick a defensive or offensive lineman stuck their necks out with a cornerback — with Walter Cherepinsky of Walter Football repeating his pick at cornerback. His analysis both times remained the same:
The Vikings have a huge liability at cornerback in Trae Waynes, who has failed to live up to his first-round billing. Terence Newman isn’t getting any younger either, as we saw when he tried to defend Alshon Jeffery in the NFC Championship. The Vikings could decide to go back to the drawing board next offseason.
Though Waynes largely hasn’t lived up his No. 11 overall billing, he certainly has improved enough that the Vikings are probably not picking a cornerback because of his play, finishing as Pro Football Focus’ 32nd-highest graded corner and improving from 70th of 72 corners in yards allowed per snap in coverage in the first half of the season to 28th.
Some mock drafts remained with Miller, and other popular picks included Isaiah Wynn, a tackle from Georgia who will probably play guard in the NFL, and Taven Bryan, a defensive tackle from Florida. In February, one mock draft selected a safety and the other a defensive end.
No mocks did that this time around.
Catch Arif every week on The Zone Coverage Football Machine
