It’s LT for Vikings in Latest NFL.com Mock Draft
Dustin Baker
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As NFL free agency cools off a bit for the Minnesota Vikings and the rest of the league’s teams, attention can rightfully return to mock drafts in preparation for April.
The NFL draft will transpire in five weeks.
The Vikings own the 14th overall pick, but it is quite likely that general manager Rick Spielman will trade back from that spot to obtain a 2nd-Round commodity. Minnesota coughed away its 2021 2nd-Round pick to Jacksonville Jaguars during a curious trade for EDGE rusher Yannick Ngakoue last summer. Head coach Mike Zimmer utilized Ngakoue’s services for seven weeks and then shipped the ex-Jaguar to Baltimore for a clawback 2021 3rd-Round pick.
Be prepared for the Vikings to trade out of their #14 position to right this wrong.
And per NFL.com, Minnesota’s focus has turned to offensive line, a notoriously head-scratching unit for the team. Free agency, to date, has emphasized defensive improvement, so it, indeed, adds up that offensive-line enthusiasm is the next frontier.
Per Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, the Vikings will select offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw from Virginia Tech University in late April, presumably to start at left tackle after Riley Reiff’s exodus.
On the pick, Zierlein noted:
“It’s no secret the Vikings are in need of a tackle, and Darrisaw is one of the most naturally gifted in this class when his motor is running properly.”
Offensive Line is the Team’s Glaring Weakness
Minnesota’s pass-protection hinders the current offense – plain and simple. And the pass-protecting stench has ruminated for nearly a decade. The notion that Spielman cannot, once and for all, fix the pass-protection woes of the offensive line is totally quixotic.
The team normally boasts commendable run-blocking for the likes of Dalvin Cook and Adrian Peterson of yesteryear, but the organization has a difficult time keeping men like Sam Bradford, Kirk Cousins, and Teddy Bridgewater upright. On the whole, poor pass protection is the only consistent facet of football that plagues the Vikings. Well, maybe kicking, too.
The Vikings pass-protection was the NFL’s fourth-worst leaguewide in 2020 per PFF.
Pass protection started off bad during the Zimmer era, became average-ish for one season in 2017, and then returned to the trash bin. In an unsurprising turn of events, the team reached the NFC Championship in the season that the pass-protection was not horrid. Pretty elementary connection here.
Selecting a day-one starter in Darrisaw would, in theory, solidify the left tackle spot. The idea must be entertained. And that’s probably why NFL.com conveyed the Darrisaw-to-Vikings vision.
Defensive Line Might Be “Set”
The choice of Darrisaw disallows the team from choosing a defensive end like Kwity Paye of Michigan or Gregory Rousseau of Miami (FL). Also per PFF, the Vikings pass-rush was the very worst in the NFL during 2020. We enter “pick your poison” territory.
Should the Vikings go the offensive-lineman route in the 2021 NFL Draft, virtually no fan will cry foul. But then the organization must hope that the setup of Danielle Hunter, Michael Pierce, recently-signed Dalvin Tomlinson, and Stephen Weatherly is “good enough.” To be sure, that bunch sounds like a fantastic run-stopping group of men, but Hunter is the only one known for quarterback terrorism among the four.
Selecting Paye or Rousseau – instead of Darrisaw – would ensure the defensive line is absolutely ferocious. However, the offensive line would probably remain rancid.
Call it a catch-22.
Cross DT off Your Mocks
When the Vikings inked defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson earlier this week, well, that effectively ended any dreams for the team to select Christian Barmore. This Minnesota squad is in win-now mode [or so they think]. Adding Barmore to a spot already inhabited by Tomlinson and Pierce doesn’t really move the needle for 2021.
The team has too many “holes” to leave absent – and offensive line is the most gaping. Unless Spielman and Zimmer have robust plans for Rashod Hill, the Vikings are wholly deficient of two starting offensive linemen.
That is nerve-wracking.
There is also still ample time in free agency to sign an offensive lineman. Decent ones remain on the wire. Austin Blythe, Lane Taylor, and Brian Winters are among some of those names. If they can land one of those gentlemen before the draft – then Darrisaw ties the bow on the offseason.
The offensive line would resemble: (LT) Christian Darrisaw, (LG) Austin Blythe, ( C ) Garrett Bradbury, (RG) Ezra Cleveland, RT (Brian O’Neill).
That might actually do the trick.