Looking at the Vikings Picks in the Athletic's 3-Round Mock

The Athletic's Dane Brugler posted his post-combine mock draft this week. It's a three-rounder so it's packed with fun draft stuff. I'm focusing on the predictions that he made for the first three picks of the Minnesota Vikings.

1. (25) Austin Jackson, OT, USC
2. (58) Antoine Winfield Jr., S, Minnesota
3. (89) Gabriel Davis, WR, UCF

I love the first two players. I'm not sold on the third. The main issue that I have with Brugler's predictions is the lack of a cornerback. Free agency could change things but as it stands now corner is one of the Vikings' greatest needs. Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander, two of the team's top three corners, are set to be free agents in a couple weeks. Xavier Rhodes could be a cap casualty. The Vikings could be entering the 2020 NFL Draft with a severely depleted cornerback group. As much as I like the potential of Mike Hughes, Holton Hill, and Kris Boyd the Vikings probably need to address the corner position early in the draft. A quick look at the players that Brugler predicts being available for the Vikings in the second and third rounds provide a couple solutions:

In the second round, Mississippi State corner Cameron Dantzler is still available.
In the third round, Ohio State corner Damon Arnette is still available.

I hate to pass on Antoine Winfield and I'm a fan of Cameron Dantzler. It's a tough choice. If I knew for sure that the Vikings could get a player the caliber of Arnette in the third, I probably lean toward Winfield over Dantzler in the second.

Brugler presents another temptation in that he has Colorado receiver Laviska Shenault available at the Vikings' second round pick. As tempting as Shenault may be there are so many talented receivers in this draft. At the moment, I probably prefer a receiver like Rhode Island's Isaiah Coulter in the fourth or fifth over Shenault in the second. Especially if it's at the expense of Winfield.

So, in Brugler's mock I'm currently liking the following three-round Vikings haul:

1. (25) Austin Jackson, OT, USC
2. (58) Antoine Winfield, S, Minnesota
3. (89) Damon Arnette, CB, Ohio State

Perhaps, the greatest temptation of Brugler's three-round mock:

Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma

Brugler has Hurts going to the Las Vegas Raiders withn the 17th pick of the third round. This is eight picks before the Vikings. If the Vikings' decision-makers really like Hurts as a long-time solution at quarterback, they have to seriously think about trading up if he gets that close to them. Hell, they have to seriously consider taking him with their second round pick. There's no monkeying around with a trade if a quarterback that you really like is sitting there.

And that's some Vikings draft fun based on one analyst's prediction of the first three rounds.