Vikings mock drafts: Two weeks until the NFL Draft
As the NFL Draft closes in the excitement and anticipation builds -- partly because we've been waiting over four months for the dang thing.
Wednesday's trade of the No. 1 overall pick by Tennessee to the L.A. Rams only heightened the process.
Of course, that deal probably won't affect the Minnesota Vikings much -- especially in the first round (maybe in later rounds). Nevertheless, many experts put out new mocks following the trade. Not all did, but again, that deal shouldn't provide any domino effect for Minnesota at No. 27.
As usual, if we included a mock previously (some of the ones we had before have not been updated since), we'll also include the picks from that earlier mock draft (note: some mocks update often; we'll just include the pick we used). Not all mocks have updated since our last roundup, so if you are curious, click on the links off on the side for the previous mocks. We hope to do one more roundup either the day before or the day of the draft, which begins April 28. Be sure to check back with FOXSportsNorth.com for coverage of all of Minnesota's picks (as well as Minnesota Gophers, if you are also a fan) and what the experts thought of them.
And now, here's the fifth look of who the prognosticators think Minnesota will take in the NFL Draft:
DraftTek (April 15): Round 1 -- Josh Doctson, WR, TCU; Round 2 -- Kendall Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech; Round 3 -- John Theus, OT, Georgia; Round 4 -- Eric Striker, OLB, Oklahoma; Round 5 -- Sheldon Day, DT, Notre Dame; Round 6 -- Kelvin Taylor, RB, Florida; Round 7a -- Drew Kaser, P, Texas A&M; Round 7b -- Kris Frost, ILB, Auburn. (Previously: Round 1 -- Doctson; Round 2 -- Kenny Clark, DT, UCLA; Round 3 -- Kenneth Dixon, RB, Louisiana Tech; Round 4 -- Ken Crawley, CB, Colorado; Round 5 -- Eric Striker, OLB, Oklahoma; Round 6 -- Coker; Round 7a -- Ryan Malleck, TE, Virginia Tech; Round 7b -- Tevin Carter, S, Utah.)
Walter Cherepinsky of WalterFootball.com (April 15): Round 1 -- Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi; Round 2 -- Kyle Fackrell, OLB, Utah State; Round 3 -- Sean Davis, S, Maryland; Round 4 -- Willie Henry, DT, Michigan; Round 5 -- Tyler Johnstone, OT, Oregon. (Previously: Round 1 -- Josh Doctson, WR, TCU; Round 2 -- Fackrell; Round 3 -- Davis; Round 4 -- Henry; Round 5 -- Johnstone.)
Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (April 15): Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi.
Hunter Stewart of TheNewNFLDraft.com (April 15): Reggie Ragland, ILB, Alabama. "The Vikings finally get an ILB who can be an immediate starter and impact player on the inside." (Previously: Ragland.)
Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com (April 14): Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi. "The Vikings need to give Teddy Bridgewater more weapons, and Treadwell will be outstanding on third downs and in the red zone." (Previously: Josh Doctson, WR, TCU.)
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com (April 14): Josh Doctson, WR, TCU. "Vikings fans seem convinced the team would have no interest in guys with questionable hands, which would rule out Will Fuller and Corey Coleman. I, however, believe Fuller would be squarely on their board if available. Regardless, Doctson gives Teddy Bridgewater a big, consistent threat with amazing hand strength and body control." (Previously: Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame.)
Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com (April 14): Josh Doctson, WR, TCU. "With the needs along the offensive line addressed via free agency, the Vikings may look to help out young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater by boosting his receiving corps on draft day. The 6-2, 202-pound Doctson has enough speed to challenge vertically and he's a master at winning contested passes due to his strong hands and body control." (Previously: Doctson.)
Dane Brugler of NFLDraftScout.com (April 14): Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi. "The Vikings landed Teddy Bridgewater in the late first round two years ago and Christmas arrives in April once again this year for Minnesota. Treadwell is the top wide receiver in this class and gives Bridgewater a powerful possession target on the outside." (Previously: Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor.)
Eddie Brown of the San Diego Union-Tribune (April 14): Round 1 -- Josh Doctson, WR, TCU. "Only Treadwell's ball skills compare to Doctson. It's scary to think of the play-action possibilities Teddy Bridgewater will face with this addition."; Round 2 -- Vadal Alexander, OG, LSU; Round 3 --John Theus, OT, Georgia; Round 4 -- Tom Hackett, P, Utah; Round 5 -- Willie Beavers, OT, Western Michigan; Round 6 -- Ken Crawley, CB, Colorado. (Previously: Doctson; Round 2 -- Adolphus Washington, DT, Ohio State; Round 3 -- Alex Collins, RB, Arkansas; Round 4 -- Hackett; Round 5 -- K.J. Dillon, S, West Virginia.)
Michael Schottey, Forbes (April 14): Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State. "The Vikings can count on No. 1 WR production from Stefon Diggs, but Thomas has the triangle numbers to win matchups Diggs never could (and vice versa for what it's worth). Thomas is raw and still maturing as a player, but the Vikings can live with bringing him along one the field like the Carolina Panthers did with Kelvin Benjamin who was a similar big bodied-but-raw prospect."
Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com (April 14): Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi. "At one point, it was thought he would go higher than this. But the Vikings sure would love it if he fell this far." (Previously: Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame.)
Sam Monson and Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus (April 14): Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State. "Thomas is a lot of what people want Laquon Treadwell to be. He's a big receiver who can make plays after the catch and fit well with Teddy Bridgewater's skill-set by excelling in the short and intermediate game." (Previously: Thomas.)
Mark Selig of the Baltimore Sun (April 14): William Jackson III, CB, Houston. "Minnesota should go WR in the first round, but if the top three from that positon are off the board, they're better off waiting until the second round."
Jon Ledyard of USA Today's DraftWire.com (April 14): Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi. "Teddy Bridgewater and co. will be happy for his big frame and high-point abilities in the passing game. The big receiver isn't a true burner, but he is a physical pas catcher who can create after the catch and help out as a blocker in the run game." (Previously: Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State.)
Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free-Press (April 14): Josh Doctson, WR, TCU.
Will Brinson of CBSSports.com (April 14): Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame. "Speedy but with questionable hands, Fuller can eventually develop into a No. 1 for Teddy Bridgewater, who needs additional help at the wideout position. Stefon Diggs, Charles Johnson and Jarius Wright aren't enough." (Previously: Josh Doctson, WR, TCU.)
Nate Davis of USAToday.com (April 14): Josh Doctson, WR, TCU. "Pairing him with second-year WR Stefon Diggs would give QB Teddy Bridgewater a capable pair of receivers to bond with while enabling the offense to evolve for the day when it loses aging RB Adrian Peterson." (Previously: Eli Apple, CB, Ohio State.)
Pete Fituak of collegefootballnews.com (April 14): Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi. "The Vikings did a really, really nice job in free agency filling some major holes. Now they need receiver help for Teddy Bridgewater. Treadwell will slide because of his speed â there isn't any â but he's a talented No. 1 target who'll be a great value pick here." (Previously: Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame.)
Jared Dubin of CBSSports.com (April 14): Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame. (Previously: Fuller.)
Eric Edholm, Yahoo.com (April 14): Josh Doctson, WR, TCU. "A highly productive, self-made, high-character receiver and a nice complement to Stefon Diggs as the intermediate, traffic receiver that Teddy Bridgewater needs. The speed of Corey Coleman will be tempting, but this might be the better fit." (Previously: Doctson.)
Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (April 14): Josh Doctson, WR, TCU. "A bigger receiver who dominates over the top, Josh Doctson will be Teddy Bridgewater's new best friend thanks to his jump-ball playmaking ability." (Previously: Doctson)
Vinnie Iyer of The Sporting News (April 14): Josh Doctson, WR, TCU. "The Vikings should feel pretty good about last year's draft steal Stephon Diggs being a top playmaker for Teddy Bridgewater, but given how disappointing both Mike Wallace and Charles Johnson were stretching the field last season, the Vikings need someone to fit that 'take the top off a defense' role for Norv Turner's passing game. Doctson fits that profile best."
Ourlads (April 14): Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi. (Previously: Josh Doctson, WR, TCU.)
Dan Blicki, Toronto Sun (April 14): Josh Doctson, WR, TCU.
Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com "Grade A" mock (April 14): Round 1 -- Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame; Round 2 -- Jalen Mills, S, LSU; Round 3 -- Le'Raven Clark, OT, Texas Tech.
Chris Burke of SI.com (April 13): Round 1 -- Josh Doctson, WR, TCU. "I'd expect a bit of a wide receiver run to start somewhere in this Houston-Minnesota-Cincinnati set of picks. In this mock, it's the Vikings who get it going in by nabbing Doctson, a tremendous fit for their emerging offense." (Previously: Jack Conklin, G/T, Michigan State.)
Chris Nicolaou of DraftBreakdown.com (April 13): Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State.
Charles Davis of NFL.com (April 12): Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi. "Treadwell is big and strong. He's not stopwatch fast, but he finds ways to get open and competes for the ball. He can help second-year WR Stefon Diggs and young QB Teddy Bridgwater create big plays in the passing game with teams continuing to key on RB Adrian Peterson." (Previously: Josh Doctson, WR, TCU.)
Todd McShay of ESPN.com Insider "Grade A" mock (April 12): Round 1 -- Will Fuller, WR, Notre Dame. "Fuller blazed the second-fastest 40-yard dash time at the combine this year (4.32). On tape, he's a vertical burner who is always a threat to rip off a big play (20.3 yards per catch last season). The Vikings could use more playmakers like that to assist with QB Teddy Bridgewater's development."; Round 2 -- Deion Jones, OLB, LSU; Round 3 -- Adolphus Washington, DT, Ohio State.
Dan Kadar of SBNation/Mocking the Draft (April 11): Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State. "Even with Doctson and Treadwell gone, the Vikings still have some good wide receiver options in the first round. I give Thomas the nod because he's a bigger receiver than Corey Coleman of Baylor and gives the Vikings a good possession-type receiver who can go up and make difficult catches." (Previously: Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss.)
Charlie Campbell of WalterFootball.com (April 11): Round 1 -- Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor. "The Vikings could use a receiver to pair with Stefon Diggs. They got rid of Mike Wallace, so here's a speed receiver to take his place."; Round 2 -- Darian Thompson, S, Boise State; Round 3 -- Kyler Fackrell, OLB, Utah State; Round 4 -- Vadal Alexander, G/OT, LSU; Round 5 --Anthony Zettel, DE, Penn State. (Previously: Round 1 -- Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss.; Round 2 -- Jaylon Smith, LB, Notre Dame; Round 3 -- Javon Hargrave, DT, South Carolina State; Round 4 -- Kolby Listenbee, WR, TCU.)
Kyle Crabbs of DraftBreakdown.com (April 11): Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi.
Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times (April 10): Ryan Kelly, C, Alabama. "The Vikings need to strengthen their offensive line, and Kelly would help in that department. They can wait to grab a solid receiver for Teddy Bridgewater." (Previously: Laquon Treadwell, WR, Ole Miss.)
Doug Farrar of SI.com (April 8): Noah Spence, DE/OLB, Eastern Kentucky. "The Vikings, who saw Everson Griffen lead the team with 10.5 sacks last season, have a lot of players who can get pressure, but Spence would bring an entirely new level of potential for quarterback takedowns with his speed, power and ability to scoot around the edge. Yes, the Vikings need major help at receiver and on the offensive line, but they can pick that up later in the draft. Spence is a rare talent."
Eric Galko of The Sporting News (April 8): Michael Thomas, WR, Ohio State.
Terez A. Paylor of the Kansas City Star (April 7): Taylor Decker, OT, Ohio State. "Left tackle Matt Kalil has been largely disappointing, and if he doesn't turn it around this year, Decker might be a capable long-term replacement. If Kalil does get it together, Decker -- a nasty dude and classic tough guy -- still offers long-term upside as a starting guard or right tackle." (Previously: Jack Conklin, OT, Michigan State.)
Charlie Casserly of NFL.com (April 7): Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi. "He gives Teddy Bridgewater a reliable target missing in Minnesota."
Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com (April 6): Josh Doctson, WR, TCU. "Sticking with this pick from the previous mock. As I said then, you have Stefon Diggs, but this is a huge year for Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings need to add another weapon in the passing game. Doctson is a magician when the ball is in the air, and he can make plays after the catch as well." (Previously: Doctson.)
Bucky Brooks of NFL.com (April 5): Darron Lee, OLB, Ohio State. "Mike Zimmer would love to add another playmaking linebacker to the mix to put the finishing touches on a dominant defensive unit." (Previously: Leonard Floyd, OLB, Georgia.)
MyNFLDraft.com (April 5): Josh Doctson, WR, TCU. (Previously: Corey Coleman, WR, Baylor.)
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