The eight picks:
1. (18)
2. (50)
3. (81)
4. (114)
6. (178)
6. (209)
7. (247)
7. (250)
Some bookkeeping.
The second sixth-round pick and both seventh round picks are compensatory picks.
The Vikings fifth round pick was traded to the Denver Broncos for quarterback Trevor Siemian. Their seventh round pick was traded to the New York Giants for offensive lineman Brett Jones.
The potential picks:
1. Garrett Bradbury, C, North Carolina State
2. Tytus Howard, OT, Alabama State
3. Kingsley Keke, DT, Texas A&M
4. Dawson Knox, TE, Mississippi
6. Jalen Hurd, WR, Baylor
6. Trey Pipkins, OT, Sioux Falls
7. Darius West, S, Kentucky
7. Darryl Johnson, DE, North Carolina A&T
Drafting offensive linemen with the first two picks, and three overall, says all that needs to be said about the priorities of the Vikings. Improve the offensive line! Garrett Bradbury is a "plag-and-play" player. While offensive line is an immediate need Tytus Howard likely wouldn't be an immediate starter. That might not sit well with everyone. Howard has the talent to be a long-time starter at one of the tackle positions. Coming from itty-bitty Alabama State, perhaps an adjustment period will be a good thing. Who knows? Maybe he's a starter by the end of the year. For now, this draft would probably give the Vikings a starting offensive line that looks like this:
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The best LG-C combination of Pat Elflein and Bradbury would be determined in training camp. Each has the position flexibility to play both positions.
Looking further down the road, the offensive line might look a little something like this:
| LT | Tytus Howard |
| LG | Pat Elflein |
| C | Garrett Bradbury |
| RG | Josh Kline |
| RT | Brian O'Neill |
O'Neill and Howard could flip spots. I don't think that Josh Kline was signed to be a long term solution at right guard. Perhaps projected 6th-round pick Trey Pipkins can be the long term solution.
There are as many ways to put together an effective offensive line as there are offensive linemen. Probably more. The Vikings have tried to piece one together with mostly late round picks. It hasn't worked. Injuries haven't helped. Brandon Fusco is an example of the late-round strategy and how that strategy can get derailed by injury. He was a 2011 6th-round pick out of Slippery Rock. He became the full time starter at right guard in his second season and a couple years later earned a contract extension. His future with the Vikings was bright. A pectoral injury in 2014 brought it all to an end. He was soon in San Francisco and now in Atlanta. Anyway, the Vikings plan of piecing together an offensive line with mostly late round picks didn't work for a variety of reasons. Adding high end talent looks like the new plan. Elfelin was a 3rd-round pick in 2017. O'Neill was a 2nd-round pick last year. I'm projecting Bradbury and Howard in the first two rounds of this little exercise.
The Vikings return 10 of 11 starters on defense. The missing starter is defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson. He left for Cleveland in free agency. Shamar Stephen was signed in free agency and is the starting defensive tackle, on paper in late March. Stephen's signing is more of a re-signing as he was a Vikings 7th-round pick in 2014 and returns to Minnesota after a single season in Seattle. No matter who starts at defensive tackle there will be a rotation. Texas A&M's Kingsley Keke could join that rotation. He has the potential to make the position his own.
I'm not sure what to think about the Vikings tight end group. Kyle Rudolph, David Morgan, and Tyler Conklin were the tight ends last year. Cole Hikutini was on the practice squad. Rudolph is still productive, Morgan is a terrific blocker and plays a vital role in the offense, Conklin didn't do much as a rookie last season and is still an unknown. Hikutini is even more of an unkown. I just don't know if this is a group that's good to go or needs to be re-made. All I do know is that the Vikings, and Kirk Cousins specifically, need more production from the tight ends. Cousins thrived throwing to Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis in Washington and the Vikings desperately need an impact pass-catching option that isn't Stefon Diggs or Adam Thielen. Despite being saddled with a name that's better suited for the rich kid in a John Hughes movie, Dawson Knox has progressed from high school quarterback to one of the more intriguing tight end prospects in a draft class filled with intriguing tight ends. He's an explosive athlete that's still learning the position and the routes that come with it. He had limited production at Mississippi but has excellent size, speed, athleticism, and natural hands. He's also improved as a blocker to the extent that he can be considered a good one. Not a lot of the other talented tight ends in this class can claim that. Knox is the athletic tight end that Conklin has the potential to be. If the Vikings select Knox, or any of the other talented tight ends in this draft class, it would likely be at Conklin's expense. There has been speculation from fans and media honks since the start of the offseason that Rudolph could be moved in some fashion. One clown even approached Rudolph at his own charity event to get an opinion on a potential move to the New England Patriots. Even ignoring what I consider inappropriate timing for such a question, how's Rudolph supposed to answer such a question? It might even have been the first he's heard of what fans and the media are scheming behind the team's back. I'll never understand how or when the job of a reporter moved from reporting a story to creating a story. Anyway, back to the topic. The Vikings tight end group. I just don't know what to think it. If a tight end is added in the draft, Dawson Knox would be an intriguing one.
Jalen Hurd took one of the more interesting college paths of players in this draft. From 2014-16 he was a promising running back at Tennessee, rushing for over 1200 yards in 2015. Then he transferred to Baylor to become a receiver. That's an odd thing to do. It's definitely a rare thing to do. After sitting out the 2017 season as a transfer, he caught 69 passes for 946 yards in 2018 for Baylor. At 6'4" and 217 he has excellent size. His three years as a promising running back show that he has the talent for running with the ball that few receivers have. His single season as a receiver shows that he has some promising receiving skills. The versatility and college production add up to a very intriguing football player.
The Vikings currently have only three safeties on the roster. If for only number reasons, they need to add some safeties. Darius West qualifies as he plays the position. I can easily see a safety being selected well before the seventh round. The Vikings have often selected raw, physically talented defensive ends late in the draft. Like Stephen Weatherly, Ifeadi Odenigbo, and Ade Aruna before him, Darryl Johnson is a raw, physically talented defensive end.
The draft is all about priorities, needs, and the obligatory best player available. Offensive line is the Vikings priority and it's without a single question an absolute need. As I rake through the draft prospects and the possible ways that the first 17 picks of the first round might fall, I'm left with offensive linemen that can be considered the best players available at the 18th pick. With the tremendous depth of defensive talent in this draft and the perpetual need for quarterbacks, there's a chance that the Vikings could have their pick from every top offensive lineman, other than Jawaan Taylor. Who knows? Maybe even Taylor slips through as well. Of course, this is all projection. The real draft could surprise everyone but it sure looks like the first round could fall nicely for the Vikings. Perhaps the second round could fall nicely as well. This draft is just silly with defensive talent. At this point it's all a guess. This is one guess as to how the Minnesota Vikings could use their eight draft picks.
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