Minnesota Vikings 2020 Mock Draft Database, Pre-Combine version

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the initial installment of our 2020 Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft Database!

Yes, with the NFL Scouting Combine officially upon us. . .the first group of players start reporting to Indianapolis on Sunday. . .draft season is officially upon us and we can look at what experts around the internet are projecting our favorite football team to do when the 2020 NFL Draft rolls around in two months.

As we usually do, we’re starting out with 30 mock drafts from around the internet, and that number will gradually expand as more mock drafts get out there. This first collection of mocks are from a lot of the bigger names in the draft game, but as we get closer and add more mocks, we’ll be bringing in mocks from smaller sites as well. After all, it’s nice to get the lesser-known folks some exposure for something like this.

So, without any further ado, here is the collection of mocks that make up our first Mock Draft Database of 2020!

We are really all over the place with the picks, even with only 30 mocks being represented. In this first version, we already have 18 different players that have been slotted to the Vikings with the 25th overall pick. By contract, the entire 2019 Mock Draft Database only had 22 players in it, with only 13 of those making the final version.

As we’ve said in past versions of the Database, when you’re this far down in the first round, there will be a great deal of variance. For example, when the Vikings picked at #30 overall in 2018, we wound up having 41 different players being tabbed as Vikings selections at various points in the pre-draft process, with 18 of those 41 appearing in our final version. I believe that’s the highest number we’ve had in any version of this that we’ve done.

Of the 18 players that appear in our Database to start with, we have five different position groups represented. Let’s go through them in order here.

Defensive Backs - 16/30 picks (53.3%)

• Trevon Diggs, Alabama - 5 selections (16.7%)
• Kristian Fulton, LSU - 2 selections (6.7%)
• Jeff Gladney, TCU - 2 selections (6.7%)
• Jaylon Johnson, Utah - 2 selections (6.7%)
• C.J. Henderson, Florida - 2 selections (6.7%)
• Grant Delpit, LSU - 1 selection (3.3%)
• Bryce Hall, Virginia - 1 selection (3.3%)
• Antoine Winfield Jr, Minnesota - 1 selection (3.3%)

With just about everybody that’s currently employed as a defensive back for the Minnesota Vikings either set to hit free agency (Trae Waynes, Mackensie Alexander, Jayron Kearse, Andrew Sendejo) or a prime candidate to be released (Xavier Rhodes), the selection of a defensive back in the first round makes sense, even though a lot of people might roll their eyes at the idea of the Vikings using another early pick at the position. But, if the season started tomorrow, your cornerback depth chart would be Mike Hughes, Holton Hill, and Kris Boyd. . .and you know that scares the hell out of Mike Zimmer. I know it scares the hell out of me.

I suppose the storyline of the Vikings drafting another member of the Diggs family is an easy one to go with. . .at least for the people that haven’t fully gotten sucked into the “ZOMG THE VIKINGS ARE TOTALLY GOING TO TRADE STEFON DIGGS” garbage yet. . .but the addition of Trevon Diggs would be a solid one if the Vikings are going to go with a defensive back.

Defensive Line - 8/30 picks (26.7%)

• Ross Blacklock, Texas Christian - 3 selections (10%)
• Neville Gallimore, Oklahoma - 2 selections (6.7%)
• Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina - 1 selection (3.3%)
• Terrell Lewis, Alabama - 1 selection (3.3%)
• Justin Madubuike, Texas A&M - 1 selection (3.3%)

The defensive backfield isn’t the only position where the Vikings might be looking a little thin, with Everson Griffen opting out of his contract and Linval Joseph a potential candidate for release to help the Vikings clear up some cap room. Personally, I think the Vikings have some decent candidates to step up and potentially start, but we’ll have to see if the Vikings feel differently.

All of the players listed are defensive tackles, with the exception of Lewis. If there’s one spot on the defensive line that could use an upgrade, it would be the 3-technique spot, and guys like Blacklock and Gallimore could potentially step in immediately. I think Kinlaw is going to be one of those guys that blows up at the Combine and there’s no chance he’s going to be there at #25, but for now he’s got one of our spots.

Offensive Line - 4/30 picks (13.3%)

• Austin Jackson, Southern Cal - 2 selections (6.7%)
• Josh Jones, Houston - 1 selection (3.3%)
• Andrew Thomas, Georgia - 1 selection (3.3%)

The position that has dominated our last two Mock Draft Databases doesn’t get quite as much love at the start of this one. The Vikings still need help on the offensive line, but with the new scheme and a little bit of development from a few guys, it might not be in quite the dire straits we’ve seen it in the past couple of years.

The book on Jackson is that he’s incredibly raw, and I’m not sure if he’s the type of player that the Vikings could expect to immediately step in at one of the tackle spots. I don’t know if the Vikings would draft a project with their first pick given the state of the roster. Jones or Thomas would be preferable, as far as I can tell.

Wide receiver - 1/30 picks (3.3%)

• Jalen Reagor, Texas Christian - 1 selection (3.3%)

Well, someone has taken a long sip of the “Trade Diggs” Kool-Aid, it would appear. Yes, the Vikings could use some help on the depth chart at wide receiver, but as long as #14 and #19 are on the roster and healthy, I don’t think this is going to be a top priority.

Quarterback - 1/30 picks (3.3%)

• Justin Herbert, Oregon - 1 selection (3.3%)

I’m actually honestly surprised that we didn’t see more of this. We know that Kirk Cousins is in the final year of his contract and that we don’t know if the Vikings are considering giving him an extension or anything like that. What I do know is that the Vikings need a better backup quarterback, because if anything happens to Cousins, this is a 4-12 football team. You think I’m exaggerating? Absolutely not.

I will say, though, that a lot of the mock drafts have four or five quarterbacks coming off of the board before the Vikings get to their selection, with only the folks from DraftTek having one of the top quarterbacks falling into Minnesota’s lap at #25. I think if someone falls the Vikings would have to strongly consider taking them. However, I’m not sure what the odds of that happening are at this point, and while I’m sure a lot of people would love to see a trade up, this team has a lot of holes that need to be patched and need all those picks.

With that, here is the first “donut graph” of the season, breaking down all of the picks for this week in graphical form. As always, we’ve got the different position groups in different colors. Yes, if you feel the need to embiggen, you may do so by clicking on the picture.

And that concludes our Pre-Combine version of the 2020 Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft Database. Like we’ve done in past years, we’re going to effort to make this a regular Saturday feature, so we’ll see you back here next week!