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Draft Wire’s Jeff Risdon unveiled his latest mock draft as the college football regular season has officially ended.
As it currently stands, the Minnesota Vikings are firmly in the playoffs and picking 20th. According to Risdon, that’s the perfect spot for UCLA EDGE Laiatu Latu to come off the board.
If his medical evaluations continue to check out, Latu figures to be long gone by this point. With Danielle Hunter and Jonathan Bullard both headed for free agency, taking a shot at the best pressure generator in the draft class makes a ton of sense.
The Danielle Hunter situation is one to monitor for Minnesota, especially with him having an actual argument for Defensive Player of the Year this season. Good teams don’t allow guys like that to walk.
The allure of a player like Latu is intoxicating. He’s physical, relentless and has an impressive repotoire of pass rush moves.
His concerns stem from a neck injury where the medical team at Washington forced him to medically retire. But his resurgence at UCLA has him back in first-round talks and possibly in the purple and gold next season.