Vikings Spin’s Post Free Agency Mock Draft 4 of 5
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By Jason Wisniewski
Vikings Spin is back with new mock drafts now that the Free Agency period dust has settled! Yes the Vikings can and will most likely still sign Free Agents and make roster moves up through September before they take the field in their Week 1 regular season match up but those moves will be dictated by what they do in the upcoming draft just like the first wave of Free Agency has now shaped what they can and will do in the draft.
With all that said, let’s draft!
Trade Rd 1 #18 to Houston for Rd 1 #23 & Rd 3 #22
Rd 1 #23 Cody Ford G/T Oklahoma 6’4 329 lbs
The Vikings have shown pre draft interest in Ford with both a combine meeting & Top 30 visit. Ford is a big man who is very athletic and very powerful. In the Vikings scheme he’d be best suited as a Guard even though he has the ability to play RT. My guess is he would be the day 1 starter at LG for the Vikings. He’s an absolute mauler who FINISHES blocks which is something the Vikings have been lacking for a while now on the OL. He also has surprisingly good movement skills for a guy that big. He’d be a massive upgrade inside in both the run & pass game.
Rd 2 #18 Yodny Cajuste OT West Virginia 6’5 312 lbs
The Vikings have shown pre-draft interest in Cajuste with a combine meeting. The Vikings will be looking for a 2020 replacement for Riley Reiff at LT since his cap hit t will be over $13 million next year and the Vikings only have $14 million in 2020 cap space with several key players needing extensions and Adam Thielen wanting a raise so it makes sense to draft an OT high. Cajuste could come in as the swing OT as a rookie and is already good enough to be ready to play if needed in 2019 and would be ready to be a full time starter in 2020. He is very strong and has the required athleticism for an OT in the zone blocking scheme. He excels at a high level in both pass pro & the run game. His medicals will need to check out as he had surgery recently. It has been said by his camp that he will be ready to play again for training camp.
Rd 3 #17 Isaiah Johnson CB Houston 6’2 208 lbs
The Vikings have shown pre-draft interest in Johnson with both a combine meeting & top 30 draft visit. With both Trae Waynes & Mack Alexanders contracts expiring in 2020, Xavier Rhodes aging, Mike Hughes coming off an ACL tear & Holton Hill suspended for the first 4 games of the season there are a myriad of reasons the Vikings will take a CB fairly early in the draft. Too many question marks are at the position right now and the Vikings seem to really like Isaiah Johnson. At 6’2 208 lbs with a 4.40 run in the forty yard dash he has the prototypical attributes Mike Zimmer likes in an outside CB. The converted WR is still learning the CB position but he displays great route recognition, above average ball skills and plays with a mean streak and a ton of physicality. He’s someone that with a year or 2 of development could become a high level starting outside CB.
Rd 3 #22 Mecole Hardman WR/RS Georgia 5’10 187 lbs
Hardman offers tremendous value to a team in that he could play as your WR plus return Punts & Kickoffs. He’s a special teams ace with blazing speed and tremendous agility as a return man and also offers a speedy option at WR with pretty dependable hands. His route running isn’t bad but it can still use some work. He could probably be a WR4 right away with the chance to be the WR3 if he puts the work in and develops quickly. In any role he’ll be a dangerous play maker that is only going to get better.
Rd 4 #18 Alize Mack TE Notre Dame 6’4 249 lbs
Mack is flying under the radar a bit in what is a stacked TE class. He has a good all around game with nice speed and dependable hands and has the physical tools needed to be a solid blocker although he needs to work on his technique in that department. Route running is decent but could use some refinement. Could see some action in multiple TE sets early in his career as he develops as a seam buster.
Rd 6 # 17 L. J. Collier DE/DT TCU 6’2 283 lbs
The Vikings have shown pre-draft interest in Collier. Collier is a “tweener” who mostly played DE in college but probably projects as more of a chess piece utility player in the pros. The Vikings seem to like him and could use him as a rotational backup who can spell a DE on run downs and then kick inside on 3rd downs to rush the passer from the DT spot.
Rd 6 #36 L.J. Scott RB Michigan State 6’0 227 Lbs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-CYMaNOEPw
Scott is a nice option as a 3rd down RB due to his skills in pass protection as a receiver out of the backfield. He also offers some ability as a power back due to his size and ability to grind out short yardage. He has good vision and is one cut runner who is a good fit for a zone blocking scheme.
Rd 7 #33 Ryan Connelly LB Wisconsin 6’2 242 lbs
The Vikings have shown pre-draft interest in Connelly with both a combine and Pro day visit. Connelly can probably play all 3 LB spots as a backup and be a core special teams player. Vikings LB’s coach Adam Zimmer has shown a lot of interest in him. He shows good instincts in zone coverage and is a pretty reliable tackler. Decent speed. Coming off of injury and tends to get caught out of position on misdirection so he’ll have to to work on his reads and his health will be something to monitor early on.
Rd 7 #36 Easton Stick QB NDSU 6’1 224 lbs
The Vikings have shown Pre-Draft interest in Stick. Stick has a big arm and is a mobile QB but his decision making is not good and he’s definitely a developmental player who also needs to work on his accuracy and reads.
Post Draft FA
After the draft I predict they get a deal done with Adam Thielen on a 2 yr extension with a raise coming for 2020. In exchange, Thielen lowers his 2019 cap hit by $3 million. With the drafting of Cajuste, Rashod Hill becomes expendable so that frees up another $2 million.
WR Pierre Garcon 1 yr $2 million
53 Man Roster
QB – K. Cousins/K. Sloter
RB – D. Cook/LJ Scott/A. Abdullah/M. Boone
FB – CJ Ham
WR – S. Diggs/A. Thielen/P. Garcon/M.Hardman/C. Beebe/L. Treadwell
TE – K. Rudolph/A. Mack/D. Morgan
OL – R. Reiff/C. Ford/P. Elflein/J. Kline/B. O’Neill/Y. Cajuste/B. Jones/A. Collins/D. Dozier
DL – E. Griffen/S. Stephen/L. Joseph/D. Hunter/S. Weatherly/J. Johnson/LJ Collier/J. Holmes/I. Odenigbo
LB – B. Gedeon/E. Kendricks/A. Barr/E. Wilson/K. Brothers/D. Downs
CB – X. Rhodes/T. Waynes/M.Hughes/M.Alexander/H. Hill/I. Johnson
S – H. Smith/A. Harris/J. Kearse/D. Smith
K – D. Bailey
P – M. Wile
LS – K. McDermott
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