Carmen Vitali
NFL Reporter
If there’s a team that has every flexibility it could ever want, it’s the Minnesota Vikings. They addressed any holes on their roster in free agency, adding veterans along both the offensive and defensive lines.
The Vikings also outperformed all expectations last season, with quarterback Sam Darnold leading the way to a 14-win campaign and postseason berth. They have a talented roster top to bottom that’s aided by one of the best coaching tandems in the league in head coach Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
But just because the Vikings don’t have pressing needs, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a huge question mark. Minnesota will go the way quarterback J.J. McCarthy goes. He missed his entire rookie season because of injury, which also pushed back his development in favor of rehabilitation. Now, with McCarthy set to start the season, the Kevin O’Connell Quarterback School will be on full display.
The best way to help McCarthy is to solidify the rest of the roster, which the Vikings can do in the draft, even with the limited number of picks they have.
Without further ado, here’s a full seven-round mock draft for the Vikings.
I think Minnesota is a great candidate for a trade down in order to get more picks, but the issue is finding a trade partner. The Vikings sit below the Steelers in the first round, potentially making it more difficult to execute a trade with a quarterback-needy team. How valuable is Minnesota’s first selection to another club? That’s the biggest question here.
If the Vikings stand pat, they could use reinforcements along the back level of the defense. They’re thin in the secondary, especially with Harrison Smith getting close to the end of his career. Safety and corner are probably their biggest needs today and in the next couple of years. Starks is one of the best safeties in the class and can rotate in this year while developing for the future.
This isn’t a need now with Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill as the bookends on the offensive line, but it could be a need soon. Plus, Darrisaw is coming off an injury, and it never hurts to have an insurance policy. At worst, Milum is a swing tackle. At best, he can take over either tackle spot, having played both in college. His shorter arms also have many projecting him as a guard at the NFL level, so Milum could essentially be insurance wherever the Vikings need him.
Minnesota addressed the interior rotation along the defensive line in free agency, signing both Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, but both players aren’t spring chickens. The interior thrives on a rotation anyway, especially with players who have position flexibility. This is a strong defensive line class, and it’s fully possible to get a solid rotational player in the fifth round.
I ran multiple draft simulations and each time, somehow, Shough was still available at this pick. Quarterbacks usually rise in the draft, even if it’s just from Day 3 to Day 2, which I think could happen with Shough. But if Shough’s there when the Vikings make their last selection, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a stab at the position. The only QB besides McCarthy on Minnesota’s roster is Brett Rypien. I’m not entirely sure the Vikings are comfortable with Rypien being the one and only backup, and unsigned veteran options are limited.
Carmen Vitali is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.
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