Vikings Visits

The 2018 NFL Draft is creeping closer and NFL teams have been bringing select prospects to their facilities for visits. Teams are allowed 30 visits but each does so differently. The Minnesota Vikings do most of their visits in bulk. They like to see how these soon-to-be professional football players interact with each other. It's a little sociology experiment. Teams rarely release a list of these visits in full so they have to be pieced to together through statements, comments, tweets, etc. from team beat-writers, league insiders, agents, and the players themselves. The Minnesota Vikings have reportedly had 25 visits in the past week.

Jeff Badet, WR, Oklahoma
Alex Cappa, OT, Humboldt State
Lorenzo Carter, LB, Georgia
Jack Cichy, LB, Wisconsin
Dallas Goedert, TE, South Carolina State
Matthew Gono, G, Wesley
P.J. Hall, DT, Sam Houston State
Devontae, Harris, CB, Illinois State
Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama
Holton Hill, CB, Texas
Nyheim Hines, RB, North Carolina State
Mike Hughes, CB, Central Florida
Jordan Lasley, WR, UCLA
Mike McGlinchey, OT, Notre Dame
Anthony Miller, WR, Memphis
Uchenna Nwosu, LB, USC
Dante Pettis, WR, Washington
Quentin Poling, LB, Ohio
Frank Ragnow, G/C, Arkansas
Justin Reid, S, Stanford
Jaylen Samuels, TE, North Carolina State
Nathan Shepherd, DT, Fort Hays State
Kemoko Turay, Edge, Rutgers
Jake Wieneke, WR, South Dakota State
Connor Williams, OT, Texas

These visits can mean a variety of things. The teams are obviously seeking information (good or bad) that they didn't have before. Information is the most important thing in the draft evaluation process and the more information the better. Last year, the Vikings had 26 known visits. Three of those players went to training camp with the Vikings. Two were drafted (receiver Rodney Adams and linebacker Elijah Lee) and one was signed after the draft (linebacker Eric Wilson). More significantly, the Vikings last three first round picks Anthony Barr (2014), Trae Waynes (2015), and Laquon Treadwell (2016) visited the team before the draft. Courtesy of the trade for Sam Bradford they had no first round pick last year. If this pattern holds the Vikings 2018 first round pick might've been touring the facilities last week. If current draft projections can be believed the list of 25 can be narrowed to the following first round possibilites:

Lorenzo Carter
Dallas Goedert
Ronnie Harrison
Mike Hughes
Mike McGlinchey
Frank Ragnow
Justin Reid
Connor Williams

Until recently, I'd immediately lean towards the offensive linemen (McGlinchey, Ragnow, and Williams) as the most likely pick. Improving the offensive line is still the greatest need of the Vikings but it doesn't have to be done in the first round. Now, I can see reasons for selecting any of the eight possible first round picks.This isn't a strong draft for offensive tackles (although Alex Cappa is an intriguing, small school player) but solid guards will be found in the second and third rounds. In recent days I've really come to like the idea of drafting Carter, Goedert, or Reid.

Just for giggles, here's a stab at a Vikings mock made up of players that have visited the team.

1. Frank Ragnow, C/G, Arkansas
2. Nathan Shepherd, DT, Fort Hays State
3. Holton Hill, CB, Texas
5. Jack Cichy, LB, Wisconsin
6. Jaylen Samuels, TE, North Carolina State
6. P.J. Hall, DT, Sam Houston State
6. Matthew Gono, G, Wesley
7. Jake Wieneke, WR, South Dakota State

That fourth-round hole, the final payment on the Bradford trade, sure gets bigger with each passing day.

17 more days.