Day 2 Atmosphere

Heading into Day 2 of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Vikings had a few positions they wanted to address. Offensive line was a glaring need, and the Vikings were not coy in admitting that.

Their first round selection was Mike Hughes, cornerback, University of Central Florida. Mike Hughes expressed that he is “excited to get to work after getting a chance to see my Vikings Jersey”. Vikings have long time Viking player Marcus Sherels at punt returner, and previously Cordarrelle Patterson at kick returner in 2016. When asked, Hughes said he would “be on kick return unit” and would punt return if the league got rid of kick returning.

As day 2 started, the Vikings had pick 62, and the board started to fall rather unfavorably for the Vikings. The Cleveland Browns selected Austin Corbett, a Guard from Nevada. The anxiety for the Vikings likely started when the Will Hernandez, James Daniels, and Braden Smith all flew off the board.

When asked about if the Vikings considered moving up, General Manager Rick Spielman said “We had a lot of people trying to trade up to get our pick, and there were a few guys we would have stayed for, but we felt confident trading back into round 4 to control the board.” Spielman was candid about wanting to select an offensive line, and that it was surprising how fast they came off the board.

The Vikings selected Brian O’Neill, Tackle from Pittsburgh with the 62nd pick. Spielman mentioned that he was the most athletic Tackle on his board, but also mentioned they felt they needed to select an offensive lineman. The Vikings felt they should move down, to “take more swings at more guys”, which has been a philosophy of the Vikings for the last few years.

Day 3 of the 2018 NFL draft starts on Saturday, April 28th. The Vikings go into day 3 with 7 draft picks left; 1 in the fourth round, 1 in the fifth round, 4 in the sixth round, and 1 in the seventh round. The Vikings will likely still move around on day 3, but here are some available players...

Jordan Reid