Purple Headlines of the Week: The Press Conference, Pre-Draft Visits, New Mock Takes Surprising Turn
With just under two weeks left until the 2023 NFL Draft, all eyes have turned towards who the Vikings will select when that process officially begins. Here are all the purple headlines you may have missed in another busy week of the Vikings offseason.
The Press Conference
For the first time since the hire of Brian Flores, we got to see Vikings leadership take the podium to answer questions from the media. This time, much of the time was spent talking about the upcoming draft and the process of evaluating prospects, but there were other important topics covered as well including the future of Dalvin Cook. Here you can find a full breakdown of the major topics from that conference.
Pre-Draft Visits
With the draft getting closer, the Vikings have continued to ramp up the process of visiting with prospects. This week’s list of prospects included UAB running back DeWayne McBride, who was one of the more productive backs in all of college football this past season.
The Vikings have actually spent a considerable amount of time visiting with running backs this offseason despite having four on the roster right now. Perhaps this means we could see a change in the room relatively soon and even over the draft weekend.
Here at PurplePTSD, we’ve created a full comprehensive list of the Vikings visits so far this offseason. Check that out for some extra reading on some potential future Vikings.
A New Mock Draft Sends Surprise Prospect to Vikings
The latest group mock draft from the minds at PurplePTSD and Vikings Territory came out this week, and as we continue to explore the possibilities for the Vikings first-round pick, this time around we saw what would be a surprising turn of events. Minnesota trades down to the No. 30 pick and selects a massive nose tackle in Mazi Smith out of Michigan.
Defensive tackle is certainly a need for Minnesota this offseason after losing Dalvin Tomlinson to the Cleveland Browns, so especially if the Vikings opt to trade down, this could be a possibility. Check out the full mock draft for more info.
In Case You Missed It…
For the especially studious Vikings fan that wants more reading material, here are some of our other top performing articles of the week to check out:
- Kevin O’Connell Provides an Excellent Update on Lewis Cine
- Brian O’Neill Could Be Back for Training Camp
- Ranking the Top 10 WRs in the 2023 NFL Draft
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. 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.