Mock draft season is upon us and that means our mock draft roundup is back!
What we do every week is track the mainstream outlets mock drafts and aggregate how many times a player gets selected. Last season, we tallied up 545 mock drafts and that included a whopping 54 different players. With the Minnesota Vikings set to pick 11th overall, there will be a lot of discussions surrounding the quarterbacks in this draft along with trading up.
We will track them and try to determine trends and patterns, along with giving my own analysis on how they could fit with the Vikings.
LSU QB Jayden Daniels
Who:
Bleacher Report’s Scouting Staff
Fantasy Pros’ Mike Fanelli
The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox
No prospect improved his draft status this year more than LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner showed a different level of composure, poise in the pocket and efficiency this past season.
The 23-year-old benefited from better protection, two first-round wide receivers on his flanks and an investment in virtual quarterback simulation. All of it led to the fifth-year senior exploding for 4,946 total yards and 50 total touchdowns.
“Daniels is a unique prospect,” Klassen said. “He’s often defined by his outstanding athleticism and penchant for chucking the ball deep. But Daniels presents far more than those two traits.
“The consensus All-American is a tough pocket manager with a veteran-like sense for running the offense. He could still stand to be a tick faster at times, although he understands how to play within the system and find answers beyond his first read.”-Bleacher Report
UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu
Who:
USA Today’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
The 33rd Team’s Connor Livesay
CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards
For The Win’s Christian D’Andrea
Fox Sports’ Jason McIntyre
Retooling a subpar pass rush is likely a necessity for Minnesota, especially with Danielle Hunter’s free agency looming after a 16½-sack season. Though Latu will carry medical concerns after he retired at Washington due to a neck injury before transferring to UCLA, the Lombardi Award winner has a strong case to be considered this class’ most skilled edge rusher.-Middlehurst-Schwartz
Washingotn QB Michael Penix Jr.
Who:
Barstool Sports’ Steven Cheah
Pro Football Network’s Oliver Hodgkinson
NBC Sports’ Connor Rogers
Pro Football Network’s Joe Broback
Michael Penix Jr. will be playing in the natty tonight and I’m genuinely curious where he’ll go in the Draft. He won’t surpass Williams or Maye, but could he be the 3rd QB? Could he be the 4th? 5th? 6th?! A lot to process here as he’s an older QB and will turn 24 two weeks after the Draft. He’s also had significant injuries on both of his knees. But will a team look at him as a CJ Stroud type asset where he shows out on a big stage against an elite defense (the Natty hasn’t happened, but maybe he puts on a show against Michigan’s fierce D). A team would have to be comfortable with his less traditional 1st round traits I just mentioned, but on the field, there is NO DOUBT this dude can spin it. He’s got an absolute cannon and can process information super quickly. Those things translate. So if he can stay healthy, I think he’ll be a good player in the league. Minnesota is in a spot where Kirk Cousins is a free agent, Josh Dobbs got benched, Jaren Hall hasn’t shown enough, Nick Mullens started yesterday. They’ve got an offense that can go led by Justin Jefferson, but they need a pillar of their franchise at QB and I’m skeptical they keep Cousins around to fill that role.-Cheah
Florida State EDGE Jared Verse
Who:
CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson
SB Nation’s JP Acosta
The Vikings could be in the QB market, too, but if they re-sign Kirk Cousins, they could focus their attention on the defense, particularly edge rusher. Jared Verse is coming off another strong season, and he could be in the running for EDGE1.-Wilson
Iowa CB Cooper DeJean
Who:
Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy
Pro Football Network’s Cam Mellor
The Vikings are another team that needs a quarterback but just goes for value instead.-Popejoy
Penn State EDGE Chop Robinson
Who:
Vikings Wire’s Tyler Forness
CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso
If there isn’t a quarterback worthy of the spot, addressing the defensive front needs to be a priority for the Vikings. Robinson doesn’t just have one of the best names in the draft, he has excellent burst around the edge and the power to hold up on the interior when needed.-Forness
Illinos DT Jer'Zhan Newton
Who:
The Vikings are a prime candidate to take a QB, and I almost made that move here. But there’s a good chance Kirk Cousins will return to Minnesota, giving the Vikings the chance to instead take one of the best defensive players in the draft. Outside of Danielle Hunter — who is a free agent this offseason — Minnesota had a severe lack of talent along its defensive front.
One of my favorite overall prospects in this class regardless of position, Newton is a disruptive 3-technique who finished the season with 42 pressures, 7.5 sacks and an 11.4% defensive pressure rate. And he simply doesn’t come off the field; his 715 snaps ranked seventh among all FBS defensive linemen in 2023. Newton can play from multiple alignments, and he can be included in creative third-down packages because of his versatility and explosiveness as a pass-rusher.-Reid
Alabama CB Kool-Aid McKinstry
Who:
Pro Football Network’s Dalton Miller
Brian Flores runs the most unique defense in the NFL. But while unique, it’s far from a gimmick.
Flores blitzes as much as anybody, but unlike Wink Martindale, he backs those exotic pressures with a heaping dose of zone coverage on the back end. That’s a bit of a change from Flores’ roots, but it was the best marriage for the defensive personnel he had.
Kool-Aid McKinstry to Minnesota might be the most obvious fit in this draft class. He’s a zone-coverage savant, his positional leverage maintenance is outrageous, and his downhill trigger is impressive. But even though he’s stronger in zone coverage than man, McKinstry doesn’t lack fluidity or explosiveness.
Alabama EDGE Dallas Turner
Who:
Sports Illustrated’s Luke Easterling
The 33rd Team’s Marcus Mosher
The Vikings’ defensive front needs reinforcements across the board, and this year’s deep class of edge rusher should give them plenty of quality options here. Turner made the most of his chance to shine as a full-time starter this season after Will Anderson Jr.’s departure, putting up huge numbers and flashing rare explosiveness.-Easterling
Overview
Through two week, we have collected 39 mock drafts with 23 of them coming this week.
| Player | Total |
| EDGE Laiatu Latu | 9 |
| QB Michael Penix Jr. | 7 |
| DT Jer’Zhan Newton | 4 |
| EDGE Jared Verse | 4 |
| QB Jayden Daniels | 4 |
| EDGE Dallas Turner | 3 |
| CB Kool-Aid McKinstry | 2 |
| CB Cooper DeJean | 2 |
| EDGE Chop Robinson | 2 |
| CB Nate Wiggins | 1 |
| QB Bo Nix | 1 |
