Mock draft season is upon us and that means our mock draft roundup for the Minnesota Vikings is back!
What we do every week is track the mainstream outlets mock drafts and aggregate how many times a player gets selected. Last season, we tallied up 545 mock drafts and that included a whopping 54 different players. With the Vikings set to pick 11th overall, there will be a lot of discussions surrounding the quarterbacks in this draft along with trading up.
We will track them and try to determine trends and patterns, along with giving my own analysis on how they could fit with the Vikings.
Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy
Who:
The Draft Network’s Brentley Weissman
Vikings Wire’s Tyler Forness
The Athletic’s College Football Staff
Vikings Wire’s Chris Spooner
USA Today’s Nate Davis
Sports Illustrated’s Luke Easterling
CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards
Sports Illustrated’s Luke Easterling (different mock from above)
Look, I have been on record that there is no denying J.J. McCarthy’s physical tools. He is athletic, has a big arm, and has good overall size. There’s no question about his flashes because when he dials it up, it sure looks pretty. With that said, I do think it’s fair to question why Michigan seemed to limit his exposure and treat him with kid gloves. This is a risk for the Vikings, but I think it’s one they can afford to take.-Weissman
Alabama CB Terrion Arnold
Who:
The 33rd Team’s Connor Livesay
CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell
CBS Sports’ Kyle Stackpole
The Minnesota Vikings are in an interesting spot. They have a big hole at quarterback and many more on defense. The Vikings could go in many different directions with the 11th overall pick. But with the top four quarterbacks off the board, selecting the top cornerback or edge rusher would likely be the call for the Vikings. Until we get a clearer picture of what the Vikings plan to do with Danielle Hunter, taking my top-ranked defender and the CB1 in this class in Terrion Arnold is an excellent fit for their defense in the middle of the first round.-Livesay
UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu
Who:
CBS Sports’ Rick Spielman
Bears Wire’s Vincent Parise
The Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer
Bengals Wire’s Chris Roling
Feeling the need to go defense here, Rick is between cornerback and pass-rusher. Under the assumption that Danielle Hunter will likely be gone in free agency and that Laiatu Latu passes his medical evolution with flying colors, Rick is going with the UCLA edge rusher.-Spielman
Alabama EDGE Dallas Turner
Who:
USA Today’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
Pro Football Network’s Wil Helms
Pro Football Network’s Lorenzo Reyna
Pro Football Network’s Oliver Hodgnikson
Fantasy Pros’ Marco Enriquez
Pro Football Network’s Owain Jones
Falcons Wire’s Matt Urben
Table the quarterback question until Kirk Cousins’ future is settled in free agency. For now, reloading the pass rush for Brian Flores has to be a priority, and the explosive and quick-closing Turner could feast in this system.-Middlehurst-Schwartz
Iowa CB Cooper DeJean
Texas DT Byron Murphy II
Who:
Eagles Wire’s Glenn Erby
Touchdown Wire’s Natalie Miller
Vikings fans miss the days of Pat and Kevin Williams haunting the interior of their defensive line, and Byron Murphy II is a big step in returning to that interior dominance. Murphy was a monster to guard all year long and projects as a potential double digit sack man at the next level.-Miller
Florida State EDGE Jared Verse
Who:
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr.
NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks
Seahawks Wire’s Tim Weaver
Pro Football Network’s Joe Broback
I almost went corner here — Terrion Arnold (Alabama), Cooper DeJean (Iowa) and Nate Wiggins (Clemson) are my top three — but I wonder whether this instead could be the spot for an edge rusher. If Danielle Hunter leaves in free agency, Minnesota would have a massive void to fill.
Verse could be an asset on all three downs. He had 18 sacks over two seasons at FSU, where he also developed into a solid run defender. He was inconsistent at times, but he has some savvy as a pass-rusher. I’m really curious to see how he tests in the on-field drills at the combine.-Kper Jr.
North Carolina QB Drake Maye
Who:
CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso
Pro Football Network’s Tony Catalina
New Vikings quarterback coach Josh McCown was Maye’s high school coach in the Charlotte area just five years ago. The Vikings need to finally swing for the fences at quarterback, and do so.-Trapasso
Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell
Who:
Three months ago, there was some hope for Lions fans that Mitchell could fall to the second round. Now, it’s much more likely he’s the first CB off the board and bolsters the Vikings.-Risdon
Clemson CB Nate Wiggins
Overview
Through nine weeks, we have collected 236 mock drafts with only 19 different players having been mocked to the Vikings.
This past week. 10 different players were sent to the Vikings across 33 mock drafts.
| Player | Selections |
| EDGE Jared Verse | 33 |
| EDGE Dallas Turner | 33 |
| EDGE Laiatu Latu | 28 |
| QB J.J. McCarthy | 27 |
| CB Terrion Arnold | 22 |
| DT Jer’Zhan Newton | 16 |
| QB Michael Penix Jr. | 13 |
| CB Cooper DeJean | 12 |
| CB Nate Wiggins | 9 |
| QB Jayden Daniels | 8 |
| CB Kool-Aid McKinstry | 8 |
| QB Bo Nix | 7 |
| QB Drake Maye | 6 |
| DT Byron Murphy II | 5 |
| CB Quinyon Mitchell | 1 |
| EDGE Chop Robinson | 2 |
| OT Olu Fashanu | 1 |
| QB Caleb Williams | 1 |
| TE Brock Bowers | 1 |
| Total | 233 |
