Since today's game was wisely turned into a preseason game or semi-bye week, whichever you like, I'm going to forego the typical recap but instead take another look into the approach that should be taken in April. There has been plenty of change since the bye-week evaluation but don't just take my word for it, check out the earlier take!
First Round
It's infuriating because of all the high draft capital that has been used toward the cornerback position but even if Alexander and Waynes are re-signed this off-season there is a significant need to bolster that position with more high-end talent. There are other possible positions to address but none are as glaring of an issue as CB.
Second Round
Days two and three will be full of intrigue for Vikings fans. Your immediate reaction may be to draft another offensive lineman. I wouldn't object to that in the least but with the future of Everson Griffen possibly in question, adding another young rusher to that group would make a lot of sense in the second round. For the sake of Kirk Cousins it should be OL but it's much less cut & dry than the first day's selection.
Third Round
If the Purple don't go DE in round two then they should here & vice versa.
Fourth Round
It seems like no time at all since I thought for sure that they needed to go quarterback in round one. With the way that he played for most of the last two months, I'm not sure even a fourth-round pick at quarterback is merited. Not that they couldn't upgrade from either of the two other quarterbacks on the roster but I think there are equally pressing positions that could get called before the Vedvik Vacuum. WR, LB, OL and CB would all make sense as possible options during their fourth scheduled time on the clock.
Sixth Round
So I tipped my hand to the strategy the rest of the way. Tricky Rick will undoubtedly make trades all the way through but trying to prognosticate what they will be would be like trying to swim out of quicksand. A significant factory in all the selections will be what happens with the free-agents. I mentioned Waynes & Alexander but Kearse is up for new money and Cook will be entering his final year so there are a lot of questions about several still young players. I'll be surprised if the Vikings don't have at least two picks in the second to last round and three sounds even more likely. Since this is all my imagination I'm going to project them to snap up another receiver, a linebacker and a corner.
Seventh Round
In similar fashion, the seventh will be another multi-pick round for the Purple. With the route I took in the sixth, offensive line & safety would be the choices to go into undrafted free agency. Positionally, they're all interchangeable at this point so it will just be a matter of players sliding down the board or the decision-makers thinking they are able to be the latest late steals.
There are already mock drafts that have names attached to all the picks but without knowing when the teams will be picking it seems like hubris to me to say which young man will go at the 30th, 60th, 90th, etc. I want the Purple to have the 32nd pick but if they end up being 10 picks earlier that's a significant difference.
So I hope you enjoyed this brief foray into mock-talk. Don't hesitate to share your thoughts on this while you wait for the snow to pass or take a break from digging out.
Now onto the playoffs!
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