SKOL Search: Final mock draft roundup

Ladies and gentlemen, we have finally made it. The NFL Draft starts tonight!

Over the last three months, I have been aggregating expert mock drafts from across the industry and seeing who has been mocked to the Vikings. This exploration has seen some staggering results.

I have gathered a total of 173 mock drafts over those three months, and we have seen 19 different players go to the Vikings. Of those individuals, only three players before the final 10 days were on the offensive side of the football, which adds up to a paltry total of 12. Tonight’s result for the Vikings is truly up in the air, as nobody knows how Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will be conducting the draft.

Without further ado, here is the final mock draft roundup of the year. Enjoy the draft!

*Note: This is an aggregate over the last ten days so there might be an analyst on here twice.

LSU CB Derek Stingley Jr

Scott Clause-USA TODAY NETWORK

Who:

CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin
PFF’s Sam Monson
CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso
NFL.com’s Maurice Jones-Drew
CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards
The Gameday NFL’s Marcus Mosher
CBS Sports’ Kyle Stackpole
The Draft Network’s Jaime Eisner
Sporting News’ Vinnie Iyer
Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar
The Athletic’s College Football Staff
NBC Sports’ Peter King
The Draft Network’s Justin Melo
The Draft Network’s Zach Cohen
LA Times’ Sam Farmer
The Draft Network’s Crissy Froyd
Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad

Far and away the most popular selection for the Vikings, Stingley Jr is less likely to make it to No. 12 after a dominant pro day. If he hits his ceiling, he’s an absurd talent and value at 12. The issue is with the injuries (hamstring and Lisfranc), along with his regression in play over the last two years.

What can’t be counted out is his best season of play came on arguably the best team in the history of college football. It’s easy to convince yourself of the ceiling. Just make sure you’re right.

Notre Dame S Kyle Hamilton

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Who:

NBC Sports Edge’s Thor Nystrom
SI’s Zack Patraw
PFF’s Eric Eager
SI’s Connor Orr
PFF’s Brad Spielberger
The Draft Network’s Bryan Perez
Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling
SI’s Albert Breer
CBS Sports’ Adam Aizer
Football Outsiders’ Benjamin Robinson
CBS Sports’ Dan Schneier
NBC Sports Edge’s Thor Nystrom

He made his debut on this list last week, and it has become increasingly likely that he may fall out of the top-10. Positional value along with his 40-yard dash time at 4.59 seconds is pushing him down—but it shouldn’t. He is a unicorn that can play any safety role. His speed isn’t an issue, as his flying 20 (the last 20 yard of the 40-yard dash) is top-tier.

Washington CB Trent McDuffie

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Who:

NFL.com’s Charles Davis
Draft Wire’s Luke Easterling
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli
Pro Football Network’s Ian Cummings
CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson
NFL.com’s Rhett Lewis
USA Today’s Staff
NFL.com’s Charles Davis

Arguably the safest of the cornerbacks, McDuffie is just a smooth athlete and technician. His play style is reminiscent of Green Packers star defensive back Jaire Alexander, where he is just sticky in coverage and can play on an island.

Florida State EDGE Jermaine Johnson

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Who:

NFL.com’s Peter Schrager
The Draft Network’s Jaime Eisner
ESPN’s Matt Miller
PFF’s Ari Meirov
Fox Sports’ Jason McIntyre
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio
USA Today’s Nate Davis
CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards
Pro Football Network’s Adam Beasley

Arguably the biggest riser throughout the process, Johnson was a second round pick going into the Senior Bowl where he looked like a man among boys. He is a multi-tool pass rusher that knows how to use his length and power to his advantage. I don’t expect him to be the pick due to potential age thresholds that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will likely utilize.

Georgia DT Jordan Davis

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Who:

Barstool Sports’ Matt Fitzgerald
CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones
Pro Football Network’s Mike Kaye
CBS Sports’ Patrik Walker
CBS Sports’ Dave Richard
Pro Football Network’s Mike Kaye
Pewter Report’s Jon Ledyard
CBS Sports’ Pete Prisco

The selection of Davis would signal the Vikings want to capitalize on a great player even though it’s not a need. Davis scored a perfect 10 Relative Athletic Score and was second only to Calvin Johnson in history. He needs work developing a pass rush, but his impact would be felt immediately.

Purdue EDGE George Karlaftis

Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

Who:

PFF’s Interns
Touchdown Wire’s Laurie Fitzpatrick

Karlaftis has quite a wide variance across the media. Some have him as a top-10 player, while others view him as a fringe first-round pick. Regardless, he would add a diverse element to the Vikings pass rush, giving them three players that can play inside and out.

Ohio State WR Chris Olave

Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Who:

NBC Sports Edge’s Tyler Forness

The position that nobody is talking about as a need for the Vikings is wide receiver. Outside of Justin Jefferson, the room is filled with questions across the board. Adam Thielen is 32 and has a history of lingering soft tissue injuries, and both KJ Osborn and Ihmir Smith-Marsette can’t be counted on to be anything more than a WR3. Adding Olave gives them an immediate impact player and a dynamite WR2 with him potentially being a WR1, if Jefferson wants too large of a contract.

Alabama WR Jameson Williams

Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

Who:

Underdog Fantasy’s Josh Norris
PFF’s Austin Gayle
NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks
SI’s Will Ragatz
CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso
Yahoo! Sports’ Eric Edholm

The second wide receiver mocked to the Minnesota Vikings during this process, Williams would provide the Vikings an element that they haven’t had since the days of Percy Harvin. A burner in every sense of the word, Williams has dynamite speed and the elite start and stop ability that Tyreek Hill possesses.

Clemson CB Andrew Booth Jr

Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

Who:

NFL.com’s Chad Reuter
Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield
CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin
Fox Sports’ Rob Rang

As Reuter notes in his writeup, Booth Jr has been overlooked during the draft process, mainly due to his lack of testing and sports hernia surgery. An athletic corner with the requisite size, Booth can do a little bit of everything and is scheme versatile.

USC WR Drake London

James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Who:

CBS Sports’ Will Brinson

The receiver position hasn’t gotten any love before this week for the Vikings, and I plan on taking full credit for that.

Okay, it’s not that serious, but nobody in the national media was talking about receiver until after I started talking about it.

London is a player I struggle with as far as fit is concerned, but he is a big-bodied guy that understands how to use his size to his advantage with his route-running and at the catch point.

Ohio State WR Garrett Wilson

Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Who:

Draft Wire’s Natalie Miller

Another receiver.

People across the industry are starting to come around, and I love it. Compared often to both Calvin Ridley and Stefon Diggs, Wilson can do it all with his strengths being at the catch point and thriving in space.

Selection Breakdown

After 12 weeks, here is the final breakdown of who was mocked to the Vikings, including by week.

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