Five NFL Draft Prospects Who Inspire a Pile of Intrigue for the Minnesota Vikings
K. Joudry
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Right off the top, an acknowledgement: my knowledge of college football is low.
For the most part, I learn about college’s best players and the NFL Draft through Mr. Josh Frey, the Managing Editor of PurplePTSD and a draft nerd who shares his opinions about these players on the site (check out his board). So with no shortage of help from Mr. Frey, I pass along five players who look like they would be strong fits for the Vikings.
Five NFL Draft Prospects Who Inspire a Pile of Intrigue for the Minnesota Vikings
1) Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina
Join the club, right?
The quarterback stands at 6’5” and weighs 220 pounds, meaning he possesses an ideal build to play the position. Last season, his numbers took a step back by completing 63.3% of his passes for 3,608 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions. The year before featured insane numbers: 66.2%, 4,321 yards, 38 TDs, 7 INTs.
The word from Frey: “He has a beautiful deep ball and is plenty capable of making throws from all angles. He throws across the field with ease and can deliver strong passes off his back foot when facing pressure.”
2) Darius Robinson, DL, Missouri
A versatile defender who can offer strong snaps as an outside linebacker and as a defensive lineman. Not bad.
Standing at 6’5”, 290, Robinson looks like a 3-4 defensive end. He snagged 8.5 sacks and 14 TFLs in his final college season, so the man is capable of making plays behind the line of scrimmage.
The word from Frey: “The top end of the draft is full of promising prospects both at edge and defensive tackle, but very few have a case to be contributors at both spots. Robinson is exactly that unicorn of a prospect, which could ultimately cause a team to take a chance on him late in the first round.”
3) Terrion Arnold, CB, Alabama
Arnold is an aggressive corner with pretty good size.
The Alabama alumnus stands at 6’0” and weighs 180 pounds. Last season, the corner picked up 5 interceptions to stand alongside 12 passes defended. Even more wild is that he also had 6.5 TFLs and a sack, which is no small feat for a corner.
The word from Frey: “Arnold brings solid length to the cornerback spot, and his physicality on the boundary gives him an ability to shutdown opposing receivers in man coverage. He is very twitchy in coverage, allowing him to keep up with explosive wide receivers off the line and change directions with ease.”
4) Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
No such thing as too many pass rushers.
The man is 6’4”, 265 and was very productive at UCLA. In fact, his 2023 season featured some truly eye-popping numbers: 49 tackles, 13 sacks, 21.5 TFLs, and 2 INTs. He even kicked in a pair of forced fumbles and a pair of passes defended.
The word from Frey: “The first thing that impresses about Latu is his ability to win in multiple ways as a pass rusher. He possesses a sturdy, compact frame that brings a lot of power and athletic ability with it. Even if an opposing offensive lineman is able to counter his first move, Latu simply transitions to a handful of others that he has in his back pocket such as a swim, rip-through, chop.”
5) Byron Murphy, DT, Texas
Arguably, the Vikings’ main weakness comes at defensive tackle. Arguably, Byron Murphy is the draft’s best defensive tackle.
A bit smaller, Murphy is listed at 6’1” and 297. However, he snagged some mighty statistics while putting in work at Texas. Murphy grabbed 5 sacks and 8.5 TFLs in 2023.
The word from Frey: “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 […] helping the Longhorns make the College Football Playoff for the first time.”
Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference CFB helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.