Tag: 2021 nfl draft news

The NFL draft prospects drawing comparisons to current and former Vikings players

See which NFL draft prospects are drawing comparisons to current and former Minnesota Vikings players.

Player comparisons are a complicated ordeal.

Everyone wants to compare a draft prospect to a Hall of Famer, or at least a player who has had a stellar career. However, the odds that a given draft prospect will go on to make the Hall of Fame isn’t incredibly likely.

So player comparisons are tough. No one wants to draft someone drawing comparisons to a bust, but it’s a given that some of these players will not have long careers in the league.

With that under consideration, our friends at Touchdown Wire set out to do something very difficult: Give a player comparison for many of the top draft prospects in the 2021 NFL draft and explain why.

Here are the prospects that can be compared to current and former Vikings players, according to Doug Farrar and Mark Schofield of Touchdown Wire:

When it comes to draft trades, Vikings GM Rick Spielman is a draft capital stockpiler

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman is more of a trade-back GM in drafts, compared to others around the NFL.

Minnesota has traded back in drafts a number of times, but how do they compare to other NFL teams in terms of making deals?

According to Brad Spielberger, the Vikings’ Rick Spielman is categorized as a general manager known for trading back and acquiring more picks. Spielberger —now working for PFF — analyzed each NFL GMs’ draft-trading tendencies at Over the Cap.

This year, he has updated Spielman’s numbers on Twitter to show that the Vikings GM has traded down 28 times, while only trading up nine times, putting him definitively in the trade-back group around the league.

Here’s what Spielberger wrote about the Vikings in April of 2020:

“The Vikings prioritize getting as many dart throws as possible, which has definitely proven successful. In 2012, the Vikings traded down from No. 3 to No. 4 with the Browns. Trent Richardson ended up in Cleveland and the Vikings landed Matt Kalil. Two years later in 2014, the Browns called again looking to move up one spot from No. 9 to No. 8. Justin Gilbert ended up in Cleveland and the Vikings took Anthony Barr.”

A case can be made for the Vikings to trade back in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft. Minnesota has no second round picks and the team has a mid-round first, which could land the Vikings a decent haul in a trade. You can read more about that here.

Vikings take Miami DE Jaelan Phillips in CBS mock draft

Do you want the Minnesota Vikings to draft Miami DE Jaelan Phillips in the 2021 NFL draft?

The Vikings have some big needs on both sides of the ball. One of the team’s most glaring weaknesses is at defensive end.

Minnesota had a lackluster pass rush in 2020. The Vikings presumably get Danielle Hunter back, but the defensive end spot opposite to him remains a concern.

So CBS Sports’ Tyler Sullivan has Minnesota filling that spot in the first round of his mock draft by taking Miami DE Jaelan Phillips. Here’s what Sullivan wrote:

“Minnesota could go with an offensive lineman here, but it also needs help rushing the passer. So long as Phillips is healthy, he’s an edge rusher that can come in and immediately help Mike Zimmer’s team get after the quarterback after the Vikings recorded the fifth-fewest sacks in 2020.”

If the Vikings can manage to land a defensive end and trade to get a second-round pick, the team could be in a good place to fill its big openings with solid prospects.

Georgia All-American CB Eric Stokes thanks DawgNation, declares for the 2021 NFL Draft

Georgia defensive back Eric Stokes announced on Monday that he will forego his senior season at UGA and enter the 2021 NFL Draft.

Georgia defensive back Eric Stokes announced on Monday via Twitter that he will forego his senior season at UGA and enter the 2021 NFL Draft in a heartfelt post thanking DawgNation and the Georgia football family.

Stokes has been a lockdown corner for the Bulldogs since 2018 and especially this season, as the junior was named a first-team All-American by CBS Sports and 247 Sports. 

This season Stokes recorded 20 tackles, eight passes defended and a team-leading four interceptions, including two returned for a touchdown.

Stokes has always been a class act in his time in Athens. A three-star prospect out of Covington, Georgia, he worked his way from an unheralded young corner that played running back at Eastside High School to a projected first-round NFL Draft pick in just three seasons as a Bulldog.

“So with that being said, and after so much prayer and conversation with my family and mentors, I will forego my final year at UGA and declare for the 2021 NFL Draft.”

We would love to see the junior wear the Red and Black another season, but just as Stokes holds DawgNation in a special place, so will we remember the humility and strong work ethic that he showed in his time in Athens.

I will remember Stokes most for his community efforts like this one.

Eric, thank you for representing Georgia football with respect and dignity on and off the field. – DawgNation