Khalil Mack, LB Buffalo. This most likely won't happen; not unless the Vikings trade up. He's considered one of the top four best players in the draft. If the Vikings were to trade up, though, Mack would most likely be the target (I'm hoping they don't take a quarterback unless they trade down). He's best rushing the quarterback, but he's such a good athlete that he could be just as good in the 4-3 the Vikings run as either their weak side or strong side linebacker. Zimmer would find some great ways to utilize him. I'd also like to add that in an article posted yesterday by Bleacher Report, author Rob Goldberg predicts Mack will fall to 8. Quarterbacks Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel were already selected, and two wide receivers and two left tackles were taken. Add in Jadeveon Clowney atop, and that drops Mack to the Vikings. If that were to happen on May 8, I have a feeling the Vikings would be getting quite a few calls about trades. This would put the Vikings in a great spot, as Mack would definitely start if taken, but they could also trade back and pick up a top cornerback or another outside linebacker such as Ohio State's Ryan Shazier. Who knows, if they don't trade back too far, UCLA's Anthony Barr could still be available as well.
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| from: blogs.atlantafalcons.com |
Blake Bortles, QB UCF. Until recently I've been high on Teddy Bridgewater, even after all the crap about how he looked average at best in his pro day. Bridgewater was still the best quarterback in the NCAA last year. But the more I look at what he could bring as a starter, the more comfortable I get with Cassel as our quarterback. I doubt Bridgewater would be able to beat Cassel for the starting spot, so he would sit for at least the next year. If that's going to be the plan, we might as well shoot for Bortles. He's much more raw than Bridgewater and Manziel but he looks to have a higher upside than either of the others. I'd love if the Vikings could trade down a few spots, maybe grab an extra third round pick, and still take Bortles. But if Spielman felt that Bortles was their answer at 8, I would be okay with that. WalterFootball.com has the Vikings trading up to 5 in order to draft Bortles after the Browns take Manziel at 4. If Mack is off the board, and the Vikings are afraid Bortles could be gone before 8, trading up may be their best option.
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| from: chronicle.northcoastnow.com |
These are really the only two I'd like Spielman to take that high, at 8 or with a trade up (though I'd rather they not have to trade up to get Bortles, as I doubt he will be able to start right away). But there are multiple options I'd love the Vikings to take if they could swing a trade down:
C.J. Mosley, ILB Alabama. He's the highest rated inside linebacker in the draft. As the NFL has become a passing league, the nickel defense is used more to put more defensive backs on the field. The number of linebackers that can play all three downs on a regular basis, stop the run and drop into coverage, is low. Mosley would be one of the extraordinary ones. At 6'2", 238 lbs, Mosley would be an every down linebacker for the Vikings. Greenway, though he's slowed down a bit in the past year or two, will still be the Vikings starter at one of the outside spots for another couple years. Putting Mosley in beside him would be a great addition to a very weak, though largely untested, linebacker corps. Most mock drafts don't have Mosley going until 20 or after, so again, a trade down would be advisable if someone is willing to jump up to 8.
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| from: detroitlions.com |
Justin Gilbert, CB Oregon State. He's dropped a bit recently as his technique has been called into question, but he's still a crazy athlete. He ran a 4.37 forty yard dash at the combine. At 6' and 200 lbs, he has great size for the position. He may not be able to step in and take over the second starter spot opposite Xavier Rhodes right away, but the signing of Captain Munnerlyn will allow Zimmer and defensive coordinator George Edwards to bring him along slowly.
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| from: zimbio.com |
Ryan Shazier, OLB Ohio State. At 6'2" and 230 lbs, Shazier is another linebacker that could stay on the field for passing and running downs. It could be argued that the Vikings may be better off in the middle than they are at the other outside linebacker spot. Audie Cole, the third year player out of North Carolina State, recorded 45 tackles last year. That's not an eye popper or anything, but Cole did have 18 tackles in the first game of the 2013/2014 season against Green Bay (vikings.com). I could see the Vikings feeling a bit more comfortable with Cole as their starter in the middle than with Gerald Hodges on the weakside. Ryan Shazier could jump in right away, and the linebacking unit would definitely be better than they were last year.
The obvious conclusion is that the Vikings need to address one of three positions in the first round, then address one of the remaining positions in the next couple rounds. I would prefer linebacker be addressed first, as the quarterbacks in the 2014 NFL Draft are kind of all over the board. Is there really that much difference between Teddy Bridgewater and AJ McCarron, or between Derek Carr and David Fales, especially when whoever is taken will hopefully be sitting for at least a year behind Matt Cassel? I'm not a scout, but I'd prefer to wait. Defensive back is deep in this draft as well, and I'd be okay with someone like Stanley Jean-Baptiste from Nebraska in the second round, or third of he falls that far. The Vikings can afford to wait until a later round, unless they trade back to the end of the first (or back up into the first, as they've done the last two years) to grab their quarterback. Eleven more days, that's all the longer we have to wait. Eleven, excruciating days and this mystery will be over. For another year, at least.
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| from: theozone.net |
The obvious conclusion is that the Vikings need to address one of three positions in the first round, then address one of the remaining positions in the next couple rounds. I would prefer linebacker be addressed first, as the quarterbacks in the 2014 NFL Draft are kind of all over the board. Is there really that much difference between Teddy Bridgewater and AJ McCarron, or between Derek Carr and David Fales, especially when whoever is taken will hopefully be sitting for at least a year behind Matt Cassel? I'm not a scout, but I'd prefer to wait. Defensive back is deep in this draft as well, and I'd be okay with someone like Stanley Jean-Baptiste from Nebraska in the second round, or third of he falls that far. The Vikings can afford to wait until a later round, unless they trade back to the end of the first (or back up into the first, as they've done the last two years) to grab their quarterback. Eleven more days, that's all the longer we have to wait. Eleven, excruciating days and this mystery will be over. For another year, at least.
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