Minnesota’s needs for the 2021 NFL Draft are hard to determine. Our friends at Draft Wire recently predicted some players the Vikings need, and if these positions turn out to be needs in 2021, the team could be in trouble in 2020.
Draft Wire had the Vikings selecting players on both sides of the ball in the first two rounds of a recent mock draft. The outlet determined the draft position of each NFL team by looking at the latest Super Bowl odds on BetMGM. The Vikings currently have the 11th best odds of winning the Super Bowl in 2020, putting their draft position at No. 22.
Here are those players, followed by brief descriptions of each and an outlook at that position for Minnesota:
Pittsburgh DT Jaylen Twyman
Jaylen Twyman is an excellent pass rusher at the collegiate level, who may be able to translate a lot of that skill to the NFL. He had 10.5 sacks in 2019. Assuming he improves, he will likely be one of the better defensive tackles in next year’s draft. He could fit in well as the three-technique defensive tackle on the Vikings defense.
If Minnesota needs a defensive tackle like Twyman next draft, that might not bode well for players like Shamar Stephen, James Lynch and Jaleel Johnson, who will compete for a starting defensive tackle spot this season.
Michael Pierce is the probable starter at one of the interior line positions, so that’s not necessarily an indictment on him.
Auburn WR Seth Williams
Williams is a different receiver than Justin Jefferson. He’s a physically imposing wideout. If his stats get better at Auburn this season, his ceiling could be high.
Williams showed off his ability to score last season by hauling in eight touchdown catches. He also had 830 yards in 12 games.
The Vikings drafting a wide receiver this early probably would mean that either the wide receiver two or three spot was less than stellar in 2020. If that’s the case, the Vikings will have a lot of trouble replacing Stefon Diggs, who they traded this offseason.
