The Minnesota Vikings needed to find a way to address some positions of need in the 2021 NFL Draft. Filling holes on a roster doesn’t always match up with the value of how the board falls, but Minnesota has done a fantastic job at mixing the two together through the first three rounds.
It started out with a fantastic trade back on day-one, which ultimately led to the team drafting Christian Darrisaw to be the left tackle of the future. The trade back also gave them two additional third-round picks that added up to be a solid second night of the draft for Rick Spielman and company.
Getting a quarterback might not have been the biggest need, but the Vikings were able to get their guy with their first pick in the third-round. Kellen Mond has been on the team’s radar for the last few months and the Senior Bowl MVP could end up being the successor to Kirk Cousins.
There’s never a bad time to draft a quarterback and it makes a lot of sense to bring in a high ceiling player to sit behind Cousins for a couple years. Mond has good arm strength, a quick release and shows flashes of good accuracy. He’s capable at escaping the pocket and extending plays but could use some work on his decision making at times.
The next pick for the Vikings was the one with the biggest question mark next to it. The team doesn’t critically need help at the linebacker position, but that’s the direction they decided to go with the 78th overall pick.
Chazz Surratt went to North Carolina as a quarterback but ended up making the switch to linebacker when things didn’t work out for him on offense. He plays with good athleticism and physicality, but still needs to grow into the position. Good news for Vikings fans is the team has two of the league’s best to help him learn the position in Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr.
The third pick for the Vikings on Friday night was one of the fan favorites, as they addressed the offensive line for the second time in the first four picks. Wyatt Davis was at one point being mocked to go in the first-round. Instead, he fell to the Vikings at 86 and allowed them to shore up the offensive line.
Davis plays with a nastiness and will more than likely be an instant upgrade over the guard play the Vikings had just a season ago. He’s at his best in the run game and judging by the film Dalvin Cook is going to be a fan of his play style.
With their final pick of the night the Vikings went back to the defensive side of the ball. Andre Patterson got another tool to implement along his defensive line, at the very least providing additional depth in 2021.
Patrick Jones II out of Pittsburgh didn’t have the best testing metrics, but that doesn’t show up on film. He has several pass rushing maneuvers and plays with extremely high effort. That effort was rewarded after his 2020 season, as he was named a consensus All-American.
Jones II could turn into the starting defensive end opposite of Danielle Hunter in 2021, and if that’s the case the defense may have found it’s last missing piece ahead of training camp.
There is still work to be done on the final day of the draft, but the Vikings have hammered the first two days out of the park. It seems likely that the team will be looking for a wide receiver, safety and cornerback on day three, and there’s still several good options at all three positions.
For more draft content tune into KFAN 100.3 and stay up to date on KFAN.com.