With the draft just days away, there is a palpable sense of excitement across the league and a massive amount of intrigue surrounding the second offseason of Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s tenure. Last year, Adofo-Mensah was in charge of the final four months of the NFL draft cycle and was still working with the staff former GM Rick Spielman hired. We saw some things that Adofo-Mensah did to separate himself from the pack, but how much of it was him versus the initial parameters he was working with?
There are three thresholds that I identified in Adofo-Mensah’s first draft
- Secondary — 90th-percentile height
- Trench players (OL & DL) — 90th-percentile 10-yard split
- All other positions: 80th-percentile 10-yard split
Along with that, the Vikings only took Power Five players last year, and the only undrafted free agent they kept in Luiji Vilain was also from a Power Five school. There is merit to prioritizing those players over players from lower levels of competition, but it will be interesting to see if that continues.
In his first draft, Adofo-Mensah prioritized finding value and didn’t seem to draft for 2022 but rather the broader future of the team. Will they approach the 2023 draft the same way? You could make an argument that they need focus more on this season due to what the defense looked like last year and the gaping holes on the roster.
Here’s how a Vikings mock draft would look like if they prioritized the 2023 season.
23. Clemson DT Bryan Bresee
The Vikings’ defensive line isn’t exactly what one would consider super talented. They have capable players throughout the unit, but they downgraded from their best player, Dalvin Tomlinson, when he signed with the Cleveland Browns this offseason. The unit was okay last season, but that’s not a glowing endorsement from the 31st-ranked defense. The one thing that they didn’t have was an explosive athlete to make things happen.
The addition of Bresee would be a 1:1 replacement of Tomlinson in terms of position. What Bresee has that Tomlinson doesn’t is freaky-type athleticism. He was a consensus five-star recruit and the 20th-ranked recruit ever per the 247 Sports Composite. You don’t get explosiveness like this from player that’s 6054.
That explosiveness shows up in his tape. He has a great get-off on the ball and knows how to win with power, quickness, and technique. Bresee will be two years removed from a torn ACL in October 2021 that was one of many reasons outside of his control that hindered his production. He would be a perfect 5T in this defense and can slide inside on passing downs. He would provide some much-needed juice to the Vikings’ pass rush.
87. Wake Forest WR A.T. Perry
The Vikings’ second-biggest need is at wide receiver. Yes, they have Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson as their top two pass catchers, but K.J. Osborn and Jalen Reagor are free agents after 2023 and Jalen Nailor is still a massive unknown. Getting a player with future starting potential should be a priority.
Perry is exactly that kind of player. In a wide receiver class filled with small players, Perry has the size to be an X-receiver on the outside. He has the speed to take the top off the defense and really good change of direction to grow as a route runner.
The big thing with Perry is consistency. He has moments where he will look like a first-round pick and others where he looks like a massive project. The nice part about going to a team like the Vikings is that he will be able to do what he does well opposite Jefferson and not have a ton of pressure to produce right away. That potential is worth betting on in Round 3.
119. Cincinnati LB Ivan Pace Jr.
This is an interesting one for the Vikings, but hear me out. Pace doesn’t fit the initial explosive metric with a 27th-percentile 10-yard split, but both his 20-yard and 40-yard splits were over the 80th percentile.
What makes Pace an intriguing player at linebacker isn’t how he moves in space. In fact, that’s arguably the area in which he struggles the most. Pace is an inside linebacker that specializes as a pass rusher and as a blitzer. He is tremendous at attacking gaps and edges in accumulating 9.5 sacks last year for the Bearcats. That is something that Flores can utilize next to Brian Asamoah with his cover-0 blitzes.
He’s also solid in the running game. The play below epitomizes the he does just that. The frustrating thing about Pace Jr. is that he’s a poor mover laterally, which limits his effectiveness in the passing game.
158. Sacramento State S Marte Mapu
If you didn’t know anything about Mapu heading into the Senior Bowl, he opened your eyes there. Despite his size at 6025, 217 lbs., Mapu packs a gnarly punch. He attacks gaps and is very physical in the running game and the open field. He played most of his snaps in the slot the last two seasons at Sacramento State and was effective.
What is really intriguing for evaluators is how his size and playing style could lead to a position change to inside linebacker. There are a few players in this class who have done the same thing, including DeMarvion Overshown. With Bresee and Pace also demonstrating Brian Flores’ much-prioritized versatility, Mapu could be the next guy to fit that mold. He’s the type of player that Flores would find a way to utilize in myriad ways. The one real disadvantage is that Mapu tore his pec back in March, but he should be ready early in the season, potentially for training camp.
211. Northwestern RB Evan Hull
Hull is being slept on in this class. Having played at Northwestern, Hull was on an atrocious offense that is still set to produce a top-15 pick in Peter Skoronski. But the rest of the offense couldn’t do anything worthwhile. The passing game was putrid and teams would focus in on Hull. The few times he had space to work with, Hull took full advantage.
He has elite explosion and speed scores and a great three-cone drill. Hull showed at the Senior Bowl that he can do a little bit of everything. He can run with good vision and explosiveness while being a plus receiver and a tenacious blocker. Every year, there always seems to be one running back that gets drafted late and blossoms. Hull could easily be that player. He would be a nice third running back to have behind Alexander Mattison and Ty Chandler.
The Vikings need to figure out how to prepare their roster for both next year and the future. This draft would not only fill needs for the future but also help them out considerably this year, which will appease fans who believe this team is a lot closer than some believe.
