Vikings Mock Draft: Minnesota Lands a Top DT in Round 1
Josh Frey
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The 2023 NFL Draft is just over a month away, and now that the combine is over, evaluations of prospects are just about done. With that, we only have a few weeks left with the Vikings mock draft series. In today’s draft, we are mixing things up in the first round. Take a look at the full mock draft class down below.
Day One
Round 1, Pick 23: Pittsburgh DL Calijah Kancey
The Pittsburgh football program is known for churning out athletic defensive linemen, and Calijah Kancey is just the latest example of this. Over the past two seasons with the Panthers, he’s recorded a combined 27 tackles for loss and 14.5 sacks as an anchor for Pitt’s defensive front.
On top of his production during the season, he showed out at both the Senior Bowl and NFL scouting combine, solidifying his status as a top-50 pick. The Vikings have had missing pieces on their defensive line over the past few seasons, and Dalvin Tomlinson’s departure in free agency only makes that need more apparent.
Day Two
Round 3, Pick 87: Syracuse CB Garrett Williams
Garrett Williams burst onto the scene with the Orange during his redshirt freshman season of 2020 by jumping into the starting lineup with a secondary filled with NFL prospects and recording 9 passes defended as well as a pair of interceptions, including a pick-six. He maintained his production during the 2021 season by once again defending 9 passes and adding 5 tackles for loss as well.
Unfortunately, his 2022 season was cut short by an ACL tear, but if he had put together another full season, we could be looking at Williams as a borderline first-round pick this spring. Snagging him in the third-round, especially when he can learn behind Byron Murphy in Minnesota, is great value.
Day Three
Round 4, Pick 119: Tulane LB Dorian Williams
The Vikings may have kept Jordan Hicks around and can fill the absence of Eric Kendricks with Brian Asamoah, but Minnesota needs to find more depth at the linebacker position. In order to do that, they snag Dorian Williams out of Tulane here in the fourth round.
Williams has much of the same potential that Asamoah displayed for the Vikings last year. He has elite speed which should allow him to play sideline-to-sideline at the NFL level, and he is a violent tackler. He may be a bit undersized, but he makes up for it with his effort and intensity.
Round 5, Pick 158: UAB RB DeWayne McBride
Alexander Mattison is back in the Vikings backfield, presumably set to take over the starting job for the Vikings if Dalvin Cook is on his way out. If that is the case, expect to see a bit more of a “backfield by committee” in Minnesota, and that leads us to the selection of UAB running back DeWayne McBride.
McBride has the size and power to be an NFL back, but he also brings some terrific speed and acceleration to the table. Over the past two years at UAB, he has rushed for 3084 yards and 32 TDs at a ridiculous 7.2 yards per carry, so the production is there as well.
Round 6, Pick 211: Houston QB Clayton Tune
If Clayton Tune lasts this long on the board, the Vikings have to pick him up. With uncertainty around the future of Kirk Cousins, there needs to be a plan in place to move forward. Tune has a lot of work to do in order to be a starting NFL quarterback, but his arm strength and mobility make him an intriguing option in the third day of the draft.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.