Minnesota Vikings: What Positions Offer the Most Value in 2015 Draft?
The Minnesota Vikings were an improved football team in 2014, but they're still a few players short of being a legitimate contender.
Minnesota scored two huge pieces to its puzzle in last spring's draft, getting both outside linebacker Anthony Barr and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in the first round. Barr looks to be a dominant defensive force, and Bridgewater can give Minnesota stability at a position where they haven't had any in years.
So now comes the second draft with Mike Zimmer on board as head coach, and it might be every bit as important as last year's. The Vikings have several different positional needs and could find a pair of starters with their first two picks.
But where is the question. What positions offer the best value for the Vikings in the 2015 draft?
While the Vikings have plenty of needs, there isn't one that is glaring and stands out above the rest. They would do well taking an offensive lineman, wide receiver, inside linebacker or a player in the secondary.
Here, we'll rank the value of each position of need and who the Vikings might be studying up on at each position.
Offensive Line
1 of 5
Yeah, we know, it's not very scintillating to take an offensive lineman with your first-round pick.
We've said it here before, and if you were watching the Cowboys and Packers playoff game last weekend, you heard Joe Buck say the same thing: It's not very sexy to take on offensive lineman.
The Cowboys, however, are exhibit A as to what building a talented offensive line can do for your team. Dallas has diligently used three of its last four picks on offensive linemen and now finds itself with perhaps the the best line in the league.
A team that watched a couple of defensive stars leave in the offseason and was projected by most to cave in during the 2014 season instead went 12-4 and won its division.
The Vikings had a terrible year on the offensive line, plain and simple. They lost both starters on the right side to injuries, and both Matt Kalil and Charlie Johnson underperformed on the left side.
Assuming, as most projections do, that wideout Amani Cooper will be long gone by the time the Vikings use their first pick, offensive line is the best value for Minnesota in the first round.
Namely, Iowa left tackle Brandon Scherff. The 6'4", 320-pound Scherff could slide right into the starting spot at left guard and be a significant upgrade for the Vikings. Adding a high-end player could only help left tackle Matt Kalil as he tries to rejuvenate his career.
After Scherff, other candidates up front would be tackles Andrus Peat of Stanford, Cedric Ogbuehi of Texas A&M and T.J. Clemmings of Pittsburgh.
Minnesota may go after a starting lineman in free agency, and that would immediately drop the value of picking one in the first round.
Should the Vikings wait until the second round for an offensive linemen, a couple of great options might be tackle Jake Fisher of Oregon or guard A.J. Cann of South Carolina.
Either way, a new starter up front would go a long way toward helping out the second-year quarterback.
Wide Receiver
2 of 5
Like we said, there's not much that the Vikings could do with their first-round pick that would surprise us, but as far as value goes, wide receiver comes in second place on our list.
Bridgewater's impressive rookie season becomes even better when you look at the receivers he was working with, who weren't impressive.
Minnesota's top three receivers, Greg Jennings, Jarius Wright and Charles Johnson, finished 58th, 76th and 95th in the league in receiving yards, respectively.
While Johnson and the enigmatic Cordarrelle Patterson are both rife with potential, the Vikings need a No. 1 receiver.
After Cooper, the next best available wideout might be Bridgewater's old college teammate, DeVante Parker.
At 6'3", 210 pounds, Parker reminds many of A.J. Green. He missed half of last season with a foot injury but was dominant in the games he played in, catching 43 passes for 855 yards and five touchdowns in just six games.
Parker might be the only receiver good enough to justify taking with the 11th pick, but others who may rise in the run-up to the draft are Kevin White of West Virginia and Jaelen Strong of Arizona State.
The wildcard will be Dorial Green-Beckham, who might be as talented as any receiver in the draft, but he has a world of baggage. It's doubtful that Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, who's already out on a limb with the little production he's gotten from first-round pick Patterson, would take that type of risk.
Safety
3 of 5
While it would certainly be nice to get a shot at Alabama safety Landon Collins, most of the free world has decided that it's a foregone conclusion that the safety-starved Chicago Bears will snap him up with the seventh overall choice.
Drafts are funny things, though, and if the Bears and their new coach take someone else, Collins might be there for Minnesota.
If he's not, there's another option, and he might be the single best football player in this draft.
Shaq Thompson is a 6'2", 224-pound linebacker-running back out of Washington who may not have a set position yet, but he's a helluva football player.
Thompson has a rare combination of size, speed and athleticism, and he's going to be a great player at the next level.
You don't have to stretch very far to see the Vikings looking at Thompson like their own version of Kam Chancellor to pair next to Harrison Smith and give them one of the best back ends in football.
While both Collins and Thompson, like Smith, project more toward the strong safety type, adding great football players is the most important thing right now. Mike Zimmer can figure out how to best use them once he has them on hand.
Second-round options at safety for the Vikings include Gerod Holliman of Louisville, Derron Smith of Fresno State and Cody Prewitt of Ole Miss.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Cornerback
4 of 5
Cornerback comes in at No. 4 on our list, not because it isn't an area of need for the Vikings, but because there just might not be anyone good enough to take with the 11th overall choice.
Xavier Rhodes took huge strides forward for Minnesota in 2014 and looks like he might develop into an elite cornerback beginning next season.
The Vikings didn't have as much success on the other side of the field though, with both Captain Munnerlyn and Josh Robinson having their share of struggles during the season.
Minnesota would probably love to get another solid starter opposite Rhodes and play Munnerlyn at the nickel position with Robinson serving as depth player.
The highest-rated corner in this year's draft is Michigan State's Trae Waynes, whom Mel Kiper has slotted to go 16th (ESPN Insider account needed) and Todd McShay has listed as the 26th-best player (ESPN Insider account needed) on his big board.
A survey of draft projections has most guessing that Waynes is the first corner off the board but not until the mid-to-late first round.
Unless Minnesota trades down from the 11th spot, Waynes, or any other corner, probably doesn't have enough value to take.
Marcus Peters is one to watch for though during the draft process. He might be the most talented corner available, but he was kicked off the team at Washington and will have to answer for that as teams try to place a value on him.
Options for the Vikings to explore at corner with their second-round choice include Will Redmond of Mississippi State and P.J. Williams of Florida State.
Middle Linebacker
5 of 5
Everything we said about the cornerback position fits even more at middle linebacker.
Yes, the Vikings would like to upgrade at the position. No, there isn't anyone nearly good enough in this draft to take with the 11th pick.
The truth of the matter is that Jasper Brinkley, while never a dominant player, was pretty quietly effective for the Vikings this season. He finished fourth on the team with 75 tackles, playing in a defense that doesn't put a lot of emphasis on the position.
The Vikings may be looking for a replacement for Brinkley, but it won't be with the 11th pick.
The top-rated middle linebacker is Benardrick McKinney, who is projected by most to be picked in the mid-to-late 20s.
One idea Minnesota might consider is moving veteran Chad Greenway to the inside next season, and then drafting another outside linebacker might be in the realm of possibility, although it's pretty unlikely.
Some linebackers Minnesota might consider in the second round include Denzel Perryman of Miami and Reggie Ragland of Alabama.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
