It’s early in the draft evaluation process. So early. It’s never early for the people at the Draft Network. Evaluating draft talent is a year-round thing for them. The Draft Network has become my go-to site for rankings, mocks, and all things draft. I respect all of their scout’s views. Jordan Reid is a personal favorite. It probably helps that he’s a fan of the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaking of the Minnesota Vikings, the team’s primary draft needs are along the offensive and defensive lines. Offensive line has been an annual draft need for far too long. The talent level is getting closer to NFL quality but there’s still work to be done. Defensive line, a strength as recently as a year ago, popped up as a serious need this year. There was simply no pass rush in too many games. Little to no pass rush in all 16 games is probably more accurate. Losing defensive end Danielle Hunter to a neck “tweak” in August and defensive tackle Michael Pierce to a COVID opt-out didn’t help. Hunter and Pierce will be back but upgrades along the defensive line, three-technique in particular, are needed. The respective lines aren’t the only needs. The Vikings could use a boost at receiver. The top of the depth chart is terrific with Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson. Chad Beebe and Olabisi Johnson are sound options but they don’t put much stress on a defense. Right now, the top third option for Kirk Cousins more often comes from a tight end or a running back. Besides the receiver depth concerns, Thielen is on the wrong side of 30. Safety is a need. Linebacker might be. And a Mike Zimmer defense can never have enough corners.
As it stands now, I only see offensive and defensive linemen among the Vikings’ early picks in the 2021 NFL Draft. Here are the current Draft Network rankings of the offensive and defensive linemen.
Rankings:
Offensive Tackle
Penei Sewell, Oregon, 6-5 325
Christian Darriswaw, Virginia Tech, 6-5 314
Rashawn Slater, Northwestern, 6-4 315
Jalen Mayfield, Michigan, 6-5 319
Alex Leatherwood, Alabama 6-6 310
Liam Eichenberg, Notre Dame, 6-6 305
Samuel Cosmi, Texas, 6-7 300
Jackson Carman, Clemson, 6-5 345
Daniel Faallele, Minnesota, 6-8 400
6-8, 400!!!
Interior Offensive Line
Alijah Vera-Tucker, USC, 6-4 300
Wyatt Davis, Ohio State, 6-4 310
Creed Humphrey, Oklahoma, 6-5 316
Josh Myers, Ohio State, 6-5 312
Landon Dickerson, 6-6 325
Trey Smith, Tennessee, 6-6 325
Deonte Brown, Alabama, 6-4 338
Ben Cleveland, Georgia, 6-6 341
Drake Jackson, Kentucky, 6-2 310
Edge
Kwity Paye, Michigan, 6-4 277
Joseph Ossai, Texas, 6-3 245
Gregory Rousseau, Miami, 6-5 260
Jaelan Phillips, Miami, 6-5 258
Azeez Ojulari, Georgia, 6-3 240
Jayson Owei, Penn State, 6-5 257
Joe Tyron, Washington, 6-4 251
Interior Defensive Line
Christian Barmore, Alabama, 6-5 310
Jay Tufele, USC, 6-3 315
Tommy Togiai, Ohio State, 6-2 300
Levi Onwuzurike, Washington, 6-3 288
Daviyon Nixon, Iowa, 6-3 305
Tyler Shelvin, LSU, 6-3 362
Marlon, Tuipulotu, USC, 6-3 295
Alim McNeil, North Carolina State, 6-2 315
Marvin Wilson, Florida State, 6-5 311
Darius Stills, West Virginia, 6-1 281
Jaylen Twyman, Pittsburgh, 6-2 290
I took the Draft Network rankings of the defensive tackles down to 11 just to include Pitt’s Jaylen Twyman. His seemingly depressed ranking could be due to his opting out on the season. Personally, I think that Twyman is somewhere between Christian Barmore and Daviyon Nixon. Barmore, Twyman, and Nixon are easily my three favorite defensive tackles.
It’s the middle of January and I’ve just scratched across the surface of the draft evaluation process. It’s early and I don’t know near enough to form any opinions. Despite that ignorance, I’ve formed opinions. I already have some favorites. My Draft Darlings. Here are the offensive and defensive linemen that flood all of the my current draft thoughts.
My most dreamy draft darling is Penei Sewell. It would take a miracle for him to fall to #14 and I don’t think that the Vikings can afford the price it’d cost to move up far enough to get him.
Gregory Rousseau, DE, Miami (FL)
Kwity Paye, DE, Michigan
Rashawn Slater, OT, Northwestern
Christian Darrrisaw, OT, Virginia Tech
Wyatt Davis, OG, Ohio State
Alijah Vera-Tucker, OG, USC
Christian Barmore, DT, Alabama
Daviyon Nixon, DT, Iowa
Jaylen Twyman, DT, Pittsburgh
Currently, the Vikings don’t have a second round pick. I don’t see Rick Spielman sitting out the second round. He’ll either trade back in the first and add a second round pick or trade into the second with their extra picks in the third and fourth rounds.
Right now, my first round preference for the Vikings bounces between Gregory Rousseau, Rashawn Slater, and Christian Barmore. If the pick is Barmore, I currently think that the Vikings could trade back and still select him. However, I only see his draft stock rising. Come draft time, the Vikings might be lucky to find him on the board at #14.
My current favorite three-round scenario for the Vikings probably looks something like this:
Gregory Rousseau
Trey Smith
Jaylen Twyman
or
Rashawn Slater
Jayson Owei
Jaylen Twyman
For some reason, I’ve really latched onto Jaylen Twyman.
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