Week 1 - Which College Players Are Future Vikings 2022

It’s that time of year again! College football is here. The first games are this weekend and while there are not any must see matchups, the games count and few prospects may be worth watching. I’ll highlight a few players that I want to watch and if there are any others, please feel free to add them in the comments.

Looking at the past draft, the current roster, and the salary cap may provide some guidance as to what positions could be on the Vikings radar in the next draft. I tend to look at the strength of the draft rather than team needs but EDGE rusher, center, guard, defensive tackle (5 technique?), and cornerback all could be good positions to watch this collegiate season.

Here are the games and I have listed some of the players even though they may not get drafted or signed as undrafted free agents. I might do more of this during the season but I usually only stick to players listed on big boards.

Austin Peay @ Western Kentucky 12:00 PM

Daewood Davis Western Kentucky WR 6-2 195

Rusty Staats Western Kentucky OL 6-4 310

Juwuan Jones Western Kentucky DE 6-3 275

Will Ignont Western Kentucky LB 6-1 235

Jaden Hunter Western Kentucky LB 6-2 240

Brodric Martin Western Kentucky DT 6-5 330

Darius Shipp Western Kentucky DT 6-1 305

Kaleb Oliver Western Kentucky DB 6-4 215

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Nebraska @ Northwestern 12:30 PM

Tyreke Johnson Nebraska CB 6-1 190

Ochaun Mathis Nebraska EDGE 6-5 257 *

Caleb Tannor Nebraska EDGE 6-3 220

Devin Drew Nebraska DL 6-2 280

Trey Palmer Nebraska WR 6-1 190

Omar Manning Nebraska WR 6-4 225

Kevin Williams Nebraska OL 6-5 325

Trent Hixson Nebraska OL 6-4 305

Broc Bando Nebraska OL 6-5 295

Travis Vokolek Nebraska TE 6-7 260 *

Peter Skoronski Northwestern OT 6-4 294

Adetomiwa Adebawore Northwestern EDGE 6-2 280*

A.J. Hampton Northwestern CB 5-11 180

Charlie Schmidt Northwestern OL 6-4 308

Conrad Rowley Northwestern OL 6-4 308

Charlie Mangieri Northwestern TE 6-4 250

Henrik Barndt Northwestern DL 6-5 285

Taishan Holmes Northwestern DL 6-3

Malik Washington Northwestern WR 5-9 192

Raymond Niro III Northwestern WR 5-10 190

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Idaho State @ UNLV 3:30 PM

Tyler Clemons Idaho State OL 6-5 293

Raemo Trevino Idaho State DL 6-0 299

DJ Hagler Idaho State LB 6-1 232

Shelton Zeon III UNLV TE 6-4 250

Adam Plant Jr. UNLV DL 6-5 260

Austin Ajiake UNLV ILB 6-2 220

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UConn @ Utah State 4:00 PM

Ian Swenson UConn 6-2 215 LB

Tre Wortham UConn 6-0 203 DB

Logan Bonner Utah State QB 6-1 230 QB

Calvin Tyler Jr. Utah State RB 5-8 210

Justin McGriff Utah State WR 6-6 215

Alfred Edwards Utah State OL 6-7 325

AJ Vongphachanh Utah State ILB 6-2 230

Ajani Carter Utah State CB 6-0 195

Hunter Reynolds Utah State S 6-0 200

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Wyoming @ Illinois 4:00 PM

Isaiah Neyor Wyoming WR 6-2 218

Titus Swen Wyoming RB 5-11 206

Cole Godbout Wyoming NT 6-4 285

Tommy DeVito Illinois QB 6-2 210

Chase Brown Illinois RB 5-11 205*

Luke Ford Illinois TE 6-6 265*

Sydney Brown Illinois DB 6-0 205*

Jartavius Martin Illinois DB 6-0 195

Devon Witherspoon Illinois DB 6-0 180*

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Duquesne @ Florida State 5:00 PM

Akeem Dent Florida State S 6-1 203*

Robert Scott Jr. Florida State OT 6-5 312

Amari Gainer Florida State ILB 6-3 237

Fabian Lovett Florida State DL3T 6-4 306*

Robert Cooper Florida State DL1T 6-2 338

Jammie Robinson Florida State S 5-11 203*

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Charlotte @ Florida Atlantic 7:00 PM

Chris Reynolds Charlotte QB 5-11 202

Victor Tucker Charlotte WR 6-0 188

Markees Watts Charlotte DE 6-1 240

Geo Howard Charlotte CB 5-11 195

N’Kosi Perry Florida Atlantic QB 6-4 198

Je’Quan Burton Florida Atlantic WR 5-10 187

Teja Young Florida Atlantic S 5-11 192

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Florida A&M @ North Carolina 8:15 PM

Florida A&M Isaiah Land LB 6-4 225

Josh Downs North Carolina WR 5-10 175

Corey Gaynor North Carolina OL 6-3 305

Raymond Vohasek North Carolina DL 6-2 310*

Noah Taylor North Carolina LB 6-5 240*

Cam’Ron Kelly North Carolina DB 6-1 210

Giovanni Biggers North Carolina DB 6-1 200

Storm Duck North Carolina DB 6-0 200

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North Texas @ UTEP 9:00 PM

KD Davis North Texas LB 6-0 229

John Davis North Texas DB 6-1 190

Manase Mose North Texas OL 6-1 292

Gavin Hardison UTEP QB 6-2 215*

Zuri Henry UTEP OL 6-6 293

Praise Amaewhule UTEP DE 6-3 250*

Tyrice Knight UTEP LB 6-1 235

Breon Hayward UTEP LB 6-0 230

Dennis Barnes UTEP DB 5-10 170

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Nevada @ New Mexico State 10:00 PM

Nate Cox Nevada QB 6-9 215

Toa Taua Nevada RB 5-9 218

Aaron Frost Nevada OL 6-5 306

Dom Peterson Nevada DT 6-0 299

Tyson Williams Nevada DB 5-9 207

Thomaz Whitford New Mexico State TE 6-4 250

Gabriel Preciado New Mexico State OL 6-4 315

Donavan King New Mexico State DL 6-3 255

Trevor Brohard New Mexico State LB 6-3 235

Eric Marsh New Mexico State LB 6-1 245

Chris Ojoh New Mexico State LB 6-1 220

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Vanderbilt @ Hawai’i 10:30 PM

Michael Owusu Vanderbilt DE 6-5 232

Christian James Vanderbilt DL 6-4 275

Anfernee Orji Vanderbilt LB 6-2 230

Jaylen Mahoney Vanderbilt DB 5-11 195

Maxwell Worship Vanderbilt S 6-1 210

Dedrick Parson Hawai’i RB 5-8 205

Blessman Ta’ala Hawai’i DL 6-2 305

Penei Pavihi Hawai’i LB 6-3 245

Isaiah Tufaga Hawai’i LB 6-1 230

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As always, I will include a mock draft.

TRADES

Dallas Cowboys

Sent: Round 1 Pick 19

Received: Round 1 Pick 24, Round 4 Pick 24

San Francisco 49ers

Sent: Round 3 Pick 19

Received: Round 3 Pick 25, Round 5 Pick 25

24: R1 P24 QB Tanner McKee - Stanford 6’6” 230 4.77

Photo by David Madison/Getty Images

https://www.si.com/college/stanford/football/tanner-mckee-ranks-as-the-best-nfl-draft-prospect-in-the-pac-12

https://www.si.com/college/stanford/football/pff-ranks-tanner-mckee-as-the-third-best-qb-in-the-2023-nfl-draft-class

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Tanner-McKee-QB-Stanford

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51: R2 P19 G Andrew Vorhees - USC 6’6” 320 5.17

Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

https://www.on3.com/college/usc-trojans/news/the-best-nfl-fit-for-usc-offensive-lineman-andrew-vorhees-in-2023-nfl-draft-san-francisco-49ers/

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Andrew-Vorhees-OL-USC

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-early-2023-nfl-draft-interior-offensive-line-rankings

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89: R3 P25 DL Mazi Smith - Michigan 6’3” 337 4.91

Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

https://www.on3.com/college/michigan-wolverines/news/mazi-smith-discusses-leadership-role-on-defense/

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/ian-cummings-weekly-nfl-draft-scouting-notebook-insert-03182022/

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Mazi-Smith-DL-Michigan

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127: R4 P24 C John Michael Schmitz - Minnesota 6’4” 320 5.25

Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/scouting-reports/johnmichaelschmitz

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/john-michael-schmitz-c-minnesota-nfl-draft-scouting-report-2023/

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/JohnMichael-Schmitz-OL-Minnesota

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155: R5 P19 EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu - USC 6’4” 290 4.91

Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/scouting-reports/tulituipulotu

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Tuli-Tuipulotu-DL-USC

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161: R5 P25 CB Storm Duck - North Carolina 6’1” 205 4.44

Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/scouting-reports/stormduck

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Storm-Duck-DB-NorthCarolina

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195: R6 P19 EDGE Ochaun Mathis - Nebraska 6’5” 257 4.65

Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images

https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/scouting-reports/ochaunmathis

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Ochaun-Mathis-DE-TCU

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213: R6 P37 TE Luke Musgrave - Oregon State 6’6” 252 4.49

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/2022/08/oregon-states-humble-luke-musgrave-his-blocking-skills-honed-looks-to-become-beavers-next-tight-end-star.html

https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/scouting-reports/lukemusgrave

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Luke-Musgrave-TE-OregonState

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215: R6 P39 LB Mohamoud Diabate - Utah 6’4” 222 4.51

Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/2023-nfl-draft-breakout-candidates-at-lb-justin-flowe-nearing-emergence/

https://www.si.com/nfl/draft/scouting-reports/mohamouddiabate

https://www.nfldraftbuzz.com/Player/Mohamoud-Diabate-LB-Florida

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It will be interesting to see if the new regime wants to go after a QB in the next draft. I expect Kirk Cousins to have a similar season to last year and probably a little bit better in terms of yards and TDs. He will be entering the last year of his deal next year and a decision can be made but does not have to be made. They can leave his deal as is next offseason, not draft a QB, and let it play out.

Tanner McKee is older as he went on a LDS (Mormon) mission prior to going to Stanford. He will have eligibility left too. It is unknown if he will turn pro and I expect it will remain this way until after the season. He is highly thought of though.

Drafting another guard could be silly but the jury is still out on Ezra Cleveland. He has improved every year and will be entering his last season in 2023. What kind of contract is it going to take to extend him and will it be worth it? Wyatt Teller received a 4 yr 56.8M deal in 2021 at age 26. I expect Cleveland, if he improves in pass protection, to likely have a market of around 9 to 13M.

Vorhees is a seasoned veteran as he has appeared in 44 games on the offensive line in his career, with 25 starts at right guard, 8 starts at left guard and 4 starts at left tackle. He will add to these numbers this year. He is very solid.

Mazi Smith is the #1 player on Bruce Feldman’s College Football Freaks list. Smith does 22 reps on the bench press, but that’s with 325 (not 225). He close-grip benched 550 pounds. He vertical-jumps 33 inches. He broad-jumped 9-4 1/2. Smith, who had 37 tackles last season, has clocked a 4.41 shuttle time, which would’ve tied the best by any defensive tackle at this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, and it would’ve been better than any defensive tackle weighing 310 pounds or more in the past decade. His 6.95 3-cone time would’ve been by far the fastest among defensive tackles in Indianapolis. The fastest was 7.33. Smith’s 60-yard shuttle time is 11.90. He probably goes much earlier.

Schmitz should be very familiar to most here and grabbing a center around this area of the draft feels right.

Tuipulotu might be a nice defensive tackle to play the 5 technique and I could not help drafting another Trojan as Capt Stubing has trained me well.

The remaining prospects are players to keep an eye on this season.

As usual, most of these players likely will end up going earlier but feel free to remind me that they will not be available.

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An alternate mock ...

TRADES

Kansas City Chiefs

Sent: Round 3 Pick 19

Received: Round 3 Pick 28, Round 4 Pick 28

19: R1 P19 DL Bryan Bresee - Clemson 6’5” 300

51: R2 P19 EDGE Derick Hall - Auburn 6’2” 256

92: R3 P28 G O’Cyrus Torrence - Florida 6’5” 347

131: R4 P28 DL Mazi Smith - Michigan 6’3” 337

155: R5 P19 QB Grayson McCall - Coastal Carolina 6’3” 215

195: R6 P19 C Joe Tippmann - Wisconsin 6’6” 320

213: R6 P37 TE Luke Musgrave - Oregon State 6’5” 252

215: R6 P39 S Jalen Green - Mississippi State 6’1” 200

Well, there it is. Enjoy the games if you watch!