Diamonds in the Rough: A Day Three Vikings Mock Draft
Josh Frey
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Ever since the Minnesota Vikings season ended last Sunday, the main topics have been a guessing game of which GM/head coaching candidates should get the job, and where Minnesota should use their draft picks. As far as the draft, many of these discussions have surrounded the first round where the Vikings will select 12th overall. However, the discourse on what will happen on the second and third days of that draft, where the majority of the picks will be made, has been minimal to nonexistent. Today, I will be shedding some light on what could be in store during the Day Three Vikings draft as I fire up the ole Draft Network mock draft simulator once again.
Round 5
No. 154- S Kerby Joseph (Illinois)
After the Minnesota Vikings make their third-round selection at pick No. 77, assuming there are no trades, they will not choose a prospect for another 77 picks until they come up in the fifth round at 154. Once you get to this point in the draft, things start to become a crapshoot. That said, pressure makes diamonds, and there is going to be a lot of pressure on these prospects to perform or be cut from their roster.
The Vikings don’t have a desperate immediate need at the safety position, but it is something they need to be preparing for down the road. Harrison Smith is getting older, and who knows where Xavier Woods will play in 2022. Because of that, it makes sense for Minnesota to select Kerby Joseph out of Illinois.
Joseph is the type of prospect that really grew into his role with the Fighting Illini this season, and you can see him start to figure some things out as you watch games later into the year. He’s certainly just a developmental type of player early in his career, but he has the chops to become an NFL safety. Low risk, high reward if you will.
Round 6
No. 184- WR Romeo Doubs (Nevada)
Day Two should bring with it a ton of wide receiver talent, but because there are so many prospects with that mid-round level talent, some will undoubtedly fall into Day Three. We see an example of that here with Romeo Doubs falling all the way into the sixth round. Doubs’ biggest strength is one that makes a lot of wide receiver prospects get drafted at this point in the draft weekend: athleticism.
Doubs is a 6’2 200-pound receiver with lightning speed and tends to be a slippery ball carrier. If injected into a stable offense, he’s just another weapon to give opposing defenses headaches. The Vikings could use that sort of lightning rod player to take some pressure off of Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson in the receiving game.
No. 192- IOL Luke Fortner (Kentucky)
Once again, the Vikings find themselves trying to look for answers at the right guard position this offseason. Both tackle positions seem as solid as they can be at this stage for the Vikings, but that interior continues to give this team trouble. With nearly 200 picks in the books, you might as well take another stab at a prospect here.
Fortner will likely be a developmental center for whoever drafts him this spring. He is on the smaller side for an NFL center, but he has no lack of effort to make up for it. He is relatively quick for a center as well, showing a talent to move laterally and help cover different gaps when needed. If the Vikings aren’t going to take a shot in early rounds at replacing Garrett Bradbury, they might as well do so here.
No. 207- RB Eric Gray (Oklahoma)
For the Oklahoma Sooners, Eric Gray was a do-it-all type of back. He was excellent as a receiver out of the backfield as well as weaving his way through blocks as a rusher. His patience to let holes open up is excellent as well for someone that will likely fall to this point of the draft.
Sometimes though, this patience can get the best of him. He has a tendency to be a little bit too hesitant to make a move, and it leads to a disastrous play in the backfield. With Dalvin Cook continuing to get banged up over the course of an NFL season, maybe another backup alongside Alexander Mattison and Kene Nwangwu could be helpful.
Round 7
No. 228- LB Mike Jones Jr. (LSU)
Why not keep the Minnesota/LSU portal alive in 2022? Mike Jones Jr. was a steady player for the LSU Tigers at OLB this past season, and he looks to eventually do the same for an NFL team. He’s very rough around the edges, quite literally, as his speed is almost exclusively up-down instead of laterally.
That said, this is round 7. Anyone with potential should be of interest, and Jones certainly has that. He has the size, speed, and strength to eventually become an NFL-quality pass rusher; he just needs to put the pieces together on the technique side of things.
Final Thoughts
Anyone the Vikings draft in this area of the board should not be expected to contribute day one, hell, even year one. However, that does not mean they will not be useful pieces down the line. The Vikings need no reminder of that with players like Adam Thielen making careers out of proving NFL scouts wrong.