The Athletic’s Nate Tice and Nick Baumgardner have released their first mock draft of the season just in time for week one of college football.
Using win projections from their colleague Austin Mock, they did a mock draft for the first round and had the Vikings take a position that they invested a day two pick into at linebacker.
"No, it’s not too early. And, yes, we’re doing this."@Nate_Tice and @nickbaumgardner have their 2023 NFL mock draft based off of @austinmock's projected win totals:https://t.co/FUIB4a1zux pic.twitter.com/16ApU9ENGb
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 31, 2022
One of four Sewell brothers, including Penei who was a top-10 pick of the Detroit Lions in 2021, Noah is a fantastic prospect from Oregon who has been lauded and hyped since his true freshman season. Tice had this to say about Sewell and how he fits with the Vikings future plans.
“The Vikings invested in the back end of their defense during the 2022 draft and now have an interesting blend of youth and veterans on that side of the ball. Sewell would give them a proper succession plan at linebacker as Eric Kendricks enters his 30s. Sewell is a balanced linebacker with size, strength and enough athleticism to hold up and coverage. A three-down defender who is a plus against the run would allow the Vikings’ defense to continue to play how they want under new coaches.”
A move like this would arguably signal the end of Kendricks’ time in Minnesota and continue the rebuild of the defense.