Mock drafts are fun and all but sometimes it's interesting to go a little deeper into this fantasy world of NFL Draft projections. All seven rounds. Not the entire draft. That's just crazy. All seven rounds for a particular team. The Minnesota Vikings in this case.
The Vikings currently have eight picks in the 2016 NFL Draft. They have their own picks in rounds 1-5 and round 7. They traded traded their sixth-round pick to the San Diego Chargers for offensive lineman Jeremiah Sirles. They acquired the San Francisco 49ers sixth-round pick and center Nick Easton for linebacker Gerald Hodges. They acquired the Buffalo Bills seventh-round pick for quarterback Matt Cassel. Those transactions resulted in the Vikings having one pick in rounds 1-6 and two picks in round 7. Here's my current dream for how they use those picks.
1. Karl Joseph, S, West Virginia
2. Tyler Boyd, WR, Pittsburgh
3. Connor McGovern, G, Missouri
4. Matt Judon, DE, Grand Valley State
5. James Bradberry, CB, Samford
6. Caleb Benenoch, T, UCLA
7. Drew Kaser, P, Texas A&M
7. Jake Rudock, QB, Michigan
Karl Joseph has been at the top of my first round dream scenarios for a couple of weeks. If he hadn't torn up his knee after four games last season he might have been a cinch to go in the top-15 of the draft. The only good thing about his tearing up his knee early in the 2015 college season is that he should be good to go for training camp. Hopefully earlier. There was a time when I thought that the Vikings could get him in the second round. I no longer think that's the case. Some team will likely grab him before the first night of the draft wraps. My current hope is that the Vikings are that team. Tyler Boyd has been one of my favorite receivers since I saw the way that he fights for every contested pass. He's a first round pass catcher but he's not a first round athlete. For that reason I hope that he's still on the board when the Vikings pick in second round. One of the problems that I have with this current dream draft is the absence of a defensive tackle. This draft is incredibly deep at the position. There will be defensive tackles taken in the third round that might have been late first round picks in any other year. For that reason I'm tempted to replace Connor McGovern with a player like South Carolina State defensive tackle Javon Hargrave. But the Vikings need much more help on the offensive line than they do on the defensive line. And McGovern has the strength and aggressiveness to be a beast in the interior of an offensive line. Besides they are getting some defensive line help with Matt Judon. He's a player that reminds me a lot of current Vikings end Everson Griffen. A ridiculous athlete in a somewhat compact 6'3" 270 lb body. Judon seems to live in the opponents backfield. I'd like to see a corner taken earlier than the fifth round but there's just not enough picks. James Bradberry might have been a higher pick if he hadn't played at itty-bitty Samford. The Vikings would be fortunate if he's still on the board in the fifth. I keep hearing more talk about Caleb Benenoch so he might be long gone by the time the Vikings pick in the sixth round. This is a dream draft so he's still there. I don't think that Vikings current punter Jeff Locke has been as bad as his statistics suggests. Since coordinator Mike Priefer has been running the special teams show the Vikings have been more directional-based than distance-based with their punting. The statistics that really matter are punts downed inside the 20-yard line and return average. All that being said, Locke shouldn't be too comfortable. It wouldn't surprise anyone if the Vikings bring in some punting competition. In fact, most fans are demanding it. And Drew Kaser is a potent punter. As for the final pick. Why not draft a late-round Michigan quarterback.
Until the next dream, there it is.
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