Coming into the 2020 NFL Draft, it was obvious that the Vikings needed to address several holes on their roster. The team needed to fix problems at cornerback, wide receiver and both the offensive and defensive line. On top of those positional needs, the Vikings had to fill some depth roles at linebacker and safety, too.
The Vikings filled most of these positional needs throughout all three days of the draft. They did so while trading back several times to acquire more picks in the process. Not only did they have a great draft this year, but they set themselves up with several mid round picks in 2021.
Through the first three rounds, the Vikings made stellar choices. They avoided trading up in the first round and still got one of the top receivers in this class: Justin Jefferson.
Jeff Gladney is a perfect fit for the Vikings’ system, and Minnesota got more picks while moving back and still getting head coach Mike Zimmer his physical, first-round corner.
Minnesota's 15 total selections set a new #NFLDraft record under the seven-round format, surpassing the previous high of 14 (Cleveland -2016, Miami – 1997). Minnesota's four seventh-round selections tie a team record (2017, 2019) #VikingsDraft pic.twitter.com/QKTrjvkW3m
— Vikings PR (@VikingsPR) April 26, 2020
On day two, the team added another pair of players with great value. In the second round, the Vikings took Ezra Cleveland, who many reported the team had interest in with one of their first round picks. He fell to them at 58 and now Minnesota has a comparable player to its best offensive lineman, Brian O’Neill.
Cameron Dantzler was the only player selected in the third round, because the Vikings traded their other third-round pick away for additional picks later on.
Dantzler was really the only cornerback in the SEC who was able to shut down LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase, arguably the best receiver in college football. Pairing him with Gladney, Mike Hughes and Holton Hill should have Vikings fans excited about the future of the team’s secondary.
On the final day of the draft, the Vikings put the majority of their focus on the defensive side of the ball. They got two athletic pass rushers in D.J. Wonnum and James Lynch, both players Vikings co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson can develop into NFL caliber players.
Wonnum is the type of edge rusher the Vikings typically like, with a tall frame and good, athletic profile. Lynch is coming off of a 2019 season where he finished with 13.5 sacks and won the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award. After he was drafted by the Vikings, Lynch said he is at his best in the three technique, an alignment on the defensive line between the guard and tackle. That’s a position where the Vikings desperately need some help.
With the selection of Troy Dye out of Oregon in the fourth round, the Vikings got a linebacker who led his team in tackles for four consecutive seasons. He isn’t a great size yet, but he has good instinct and he can contribute on special teams from day one.
To wrap up what occurred in the final hours of the draft, the Vikings really seemed to focus on players with good athletic profiles. They also turned a fifth-round and sixth-round pick into a fourth-round and fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft.
A few names to keep an eye on from the last couple hours of the draft are cornerback Harrison Hand, wide receiver K.J. Osborn, offensive tackle Blake Brandel and defensive end Kenny Willekes. It is sometimes easy to wonder why Spielman loves trading back so much, but the team has done a great job of finding players that should have been drafted earlier than when the Vikings selected them.
The Vikings also added a pair of physical safeties on the final day, and both Josh Metellus and Brian Cole II will at the very least add some depth at the position heading into camp.
The final phase of the draft is one that can get overlooked, but the Vikings have done a great job over the years at landing undrafted prospects. Both Anthony Harris and Adam Thielen were undrafted, and they’re two of the best players on the Vikings roster.
The #Vikings have agreed to terms with 12 undrafted free agents.
📰: https://t.co/llnLAct53k pic.twitter.com/XO2hS7KrOj
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 27, 2020
A few promising undrafted names on this list consist of wide receiver Quartney Davis, cornerback Nevelle Clarke, safety Myles Dorn and interior offensive lineman Jake Lacina.
Davis, the speedy receiver out of Texas A&M, is one of the more surprising names on this list. The Vikings need some depth at receiver, and Davis has the ability to come in and make the 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie.
With how much draft capital the Vikings invested in at the cornerback position, it might be difficult for Clarke to crack the opening-day lineup. However, he is a talented corner out of UCF that could work his way up the ranks from the practice squad.
Dorn, on the other hand, has a better chance at making the 53-man roster simply because the Vikings lack depth at the safety position. One of the more intriguing roster battles to watch this summer will be at the safety position, just not when it comes to the starters. Both Anthony Harris and Harrison Smith have the starting spots locked down, but behind them it will likely be an open battle.
Coming out of North Carolina, Dorn is a safety that is good at tackling in the open field. On top of his good tackling abilities, he can drop back into deep zone coverage as well. Harris was an undrafted safety, and Dorn has the chance to compete with Metellus and Cole II for a depth role at safety.
Lacina is a fascinating prospect coming from the Division II level of college football. He played his high school ball at Cretin-Derham Hall and played Center at Augustana. He is coming off of a 2019 season where he won the Division II Remington Trophy for being the best center in the nation.
Although it’s not often that Division II players make NFL rosters, Lacina dominated at that level. The Vikings don’t seem to care where players come from, as long as they can play at the next level. Lacina is someone to keep an eye on, as the Vikings lack depth along the interior of their defensive line.
It’s never easy to predict how well a team did in the draft before the players step foot on the field. However, it is clear that the Vikings found a lot of value throughout the entire draft process.
From day one, all the way to the undrafted phase of the draft, the Vikings drafted some potential hidden gems in this draft class. One thing is certain, the Vikings roster is going to look a lot different in 2020, with the amount of talent added from this year’s draft class.