ESPN’s Jordan Reid has a strong connection to Minnesota and a unique understanding of how this franchise operates. When he speaks about the Minnesota Vikings, everyone should listen.
We listened, and we loved the final selections he made for the team in the first round of his final mock draft.
In his final mock draft, he has the Vikings trading up for a quarterback, but not to the usual spot we see. He has Kwesi Adofo-Mensah taking advantage of a slide coming for J.J. McCarthy. The Vikings General Manager trades up with the Atlanta Falcons to get to the 8th overall selection and only had to send them their 11th and a package of other picks.
They keep their 23rd overall pick but only from being included in the trade-up with the Falcons. Reid then has the Vikings trading back from 23 to 27 while picking up some day-two draft capital, to which they currently have none. The fallback not only gets them extra draft capital but also allows them to get one of the best defenders in the draft, Jer’Zhan Newton.
The Illinois defensive lineman is a bulldozer of a player and plays an old-school style of football that Vikings fans will appreciate. The franchise has a rich history of mauling defensive linemen, Newton will be the next installment.
If the team can land J.J. McCarthy and Jer’Zhan Newton while adding some day-two draft capital, consider it a home run. This is the new dream scenario if you are the Vikings or fans of the team. Time will only tell if Kwesi Adofo-Mensah can pull it off.