Vikings 7-Round Mock Draft: Justin Jefferson Gets a Friend

With only five picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Vikings and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have little room for error. In the latest mock draft, the Vikings get a receiver to complement Justin Jefferson and much-needed help for a defense that ranked 31st last year.

The Vikings are only expected to have five picks in the 2023 draft. I will be stunned if Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah doesn’t trade back in an attempt to recoup the second-round pick lost in the TJ Hockenson trade.

That said, I will not make trades in this mock draft. More of these will come out as we get closer to the big day, but for now, I wanted to do this mock draft as raw as possible.

The Viking’s cap situation is one of the worst in the NFL. So, with little cap to maneuver in free agency, these five selections will go a long way in determining the squads success in 2023 — and the years to come. No pressure…

In my Saturday mock draft, the Vikings selected Joey Porter Jr. with this pick. However, Kirk Cousins deserves another explosive weapon on offense. With a potential Adam Theilen departure coming this offseason, Flowers would immediately impact the offense. K.J. Osborn might’ve provided the spark in the biggest comeback in NFL history, but he didn’t have the numbers you want to see from your No. 2 wideout.

Flowers is one of the best receivers in this draft with the ball in his hands. Teams will do everything they can to prevent that from happening. This will allow Justin Jefferson to see more breathing room than he did this past year.

It will be interesting to see if Flowers will overcome his size and continue playing on the outside or if Kevin O’Connell (or whatever team he ends up on) sees him filling the slot role. Regardless, the Vikings need an explosive No. 2 target, and Zay Flowers gives them just that.