Minnesota Vikings 7-round 2021 NFL mock draft: Building the trenches
By Josh Berg
Scouting Report. Interior Defensive Lineman. Pittsburgh University. Pick Analysis. Jaylen Twyman. 3. player. 866
It is no secret that the defensive line for Minnesota has been decimated with injuries with Danielle Hunter and player departures from Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph and the opt-out from big-ticket free agent Michael Pierce. Now, Pierce is presumably going to be back on this team for next season which will help their run defense tremendously.
The Vikings have proven that they succeed best on the interior with a dominant run stopper next to a finesse pass rusher. Linval Joseph and Ifeadi Odenigbo, Sheldon Richardson and Linval, etc. Having Pierce as a dominant run stopper with an ability to rush the passer, alongside Jaylen Twyman who has shown a really high upside rushing the passer would really help Minnesota in the interior front.
Adding Twyman to a rotational defensive line with Wonnum, Lynch, Watts and Mata’afa would allow all these young guys to stay fresh, develop and allow them to place a ton of them in different packages. The depth at the interior is young and needs time to develop. Adding Twyman to the mix gives Minnesota a really solid young core on the defensive line to build with alongside Danielle Hunter.
Scouting Report. Richie Grant. 886. Pick Analysis. Safety. University of Central Florida. 3. player
Anthony Harris is playing this season on the franchise tag and will likely be leaving in free agency due to his high market value and the lack of salary cap space Minnesota has. If this is the case, Minnesota will have a gaping hole at the starting safety spot next to Harrison Smith.
Luckily, this safety class is one of the strongest position groups in the entire draft. Between names like Trevon Moehrig, Jevon Holland, Paris Ford and Andre Cisco, Richie Grant has flown somewhat under the radar.
He is a super rangy and hyper-athletic playmaker with exceptional ball skills. He gives the defense incredible versatility being able to play single-high safety, and man to man coverage from the slot. His single high safety ability will allow Minnesota to keep utilizing Harrison in many different blitzes and sub-packages that make him one of the best safeties in football. Getting a super high instinctive playmaker in Grant is a great value here in the third round for the Vikings.