Recapping a Busy Pre-Draft Monday for the Vikings
Josh Frey
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Monday ended up being a very busy 24 hours for multiple teams with pre-draft visits, including the Minnesota Vikings.
With the 2024 NFL Draft just over two weeks away, teams are hustling to wrap up their evaluation processes, and that resulted in six top-30 visits for the Vikings. Here is a look at each of the prospects who headed to Minnesota on Monday.
DT Byron Murphy
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweeted on Monday morning, “#Texas DT Byron Murphy II, one of the top prospects at his position in the Draft, is visiting the #Vikings on a Top 30 visit today, source said. Minnesota picks at No. 11.”
Murphy has been a dominant force on the Texas defensive line for the past three seasons, and he managed to take his game to another level in 2023. After recording 6.5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks over the course of his first two years, the defensive tackle piled up 8.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks during the 2023 season.
The Vikings have a pretty major need at the defensive tackle spot, particularly one of the pass rushing variety. As a result, if they don’t find a way to trade up for a quarterback, Murphy could be the selection with the 11th overall pick.
EDGE Dallas Turner
The Vikings aren’t in as dire a need for edge rushers as they were at the beginning of the offseason. While all three of Marcus Davenport, Danielle Hunter, and D.J. Wonnum are no longer in Minnesota, they were promptly replaced by Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Jihad Ward.
Even still, it would be hard to deny that watching Dallas Turner suit up in a Vikings uniform could be very fun. The pass rusher just turned 21 years old in February, and despite being a bit undersized in terms of height/weight, he brings some elite athletic skills and ridiculous length.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network tweeted, “Alabama edge Dallas Turner, who could be the first defensive player off the board, is visiting the #Vikings today. Minnesota owns the No. 11 pick (and No. 23). A busy pre-draft process for Turner, who also has visits with the #Bears, #Chargers, #Falcons and #Cardinals.”
CB Quinyon Mitchell
The Vikings have a pretty crowded CB room as of now, but they lack a true lockdown presence in man coverage as things currently stand on their roster. Quinyon Mitchell, who has quickly risen up draft boards over the past few months, turned heads throughout his past two seasons at Toledo and continued solidifying his status as a top prospect at the Senior Bowl and NFL Scouting Combine.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic reported his visit with the Vikings, tweeting, “#Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell has aced the last eight months. All-American season. Dominant Senior Bowl. Outstanding Combine. Mitchell is in Minnesota today visiting the #Vikings (No. 11 overall).”
TE McCallan Castles
Tight end is a quiet need for the Vikings this offseason that could become much louder if T.J. Hockenson is indeed set to miss the opening portions of the 2024 regular season. If that were to happen, McCallan Castles becomes a very intriguing candidate for the Vikings in the third day of the draft after a 2023 season at Tennessee which included 22 receptions for 283 yards and five touchdowns.
C Charles Turner
The LSU-Vikings pipeline has been a strong connection for years at this point. The obvious choice for Minnesota to continue selecting LSU Tigers would be QB Jayden Daniels. However, it appears another LSU prospect could be on Minnesota’s radar this spring as they visited with center Charles Turner on Monday.
Pelissero tweeted to report the visits for both Castles and Turner, “More #Vikings visits today: – LSU IOL Charles Turner III, who impressed at the Senior Bowl and visits the #Cardinals on Tuesday. – Former four-star Tennessee (via Cal and UC-Davis) TE McCallan Castles, a potential sleeper whose strong pro day has him projected as a Day 3 pick.”
OT Spencer Rolland
As of now, David Quessenberry and Coy Cronk are the only depth tackles on Minnesota’s roster, and with both Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill dealing with injuries in the past couple years, more quality depth at the position absolutely is a need.
With that in mind, it makes sense that the Vikings would be interested in Spencer Rolland (who just so happens to be a Minnesota native and collegiate teammate of QB prospect Drake Maye). Darren Wolfson of KSTP tweeted, “Former Apple Valley HS, Harvard, and North Carolina OL Spencer Rolland is among #Vikings draft visitors today. Started 26 games last two years at RT for North Carolina. Was honorable mention All-ACC. Had a nice chat with him last week and he spoke very glowingly about Drake Maye.”
Editor’s Note: Statistics from this article were found via Sports Reference CFB.
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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.