Vikings Have Perfect Chance to Land True No. 1 WR for Teddy Bridgewater in Draft

Mock drafts continue to bind the Minnesota Vikings to a receiver with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft, giving credence to the opportunity Minnesota should have to provide young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater with a legitimate No. 1 receiving option come April. 

Mel Kiper of ESPN released his second mock draft on Wednesday. He again gave the Vikings a receiver in the first round, mocking West Virginia's Kevin White to Minnesota at No. 11. He bypassed Louisville's DeVante Parker, whom Kiper had as the Vikings' pick in his first mock, to take White. 

"If Bridgewater still has a big question mark, it's whether he can scare defenses with his ability to drive the ball down the field," Kiper wrote. "And White is the type of player who doesn't just make big plays in the deep passing game, but can make traffic catches underneath and will also turn some short throws into big yards." 

Parker was pegged one spot later at No. 12 to the Cleveland Browns. Alabama's Amari Cooper went off the board at No. 4 to the Oakland Raiders. 

Many other prominent draft analysts have the Vikings taking one of the three receivers in the first round. 

Matt Miller of Bleacher Report gave Cooper to the Vikings in his Feb. 2 mock, citing his uncertainty of the Alabama product being a top-five pick while also noting the high school connection between Cooper and Bridgewater (the two were teammates at Miami Northwestern Senior High School).  

Dane Brugler of CBS Sports went with Parker for the Vikings in his latest mock, dated Feb. 9. 

"So far the Cordarrelle Patterson experiment in Minnesota has been a disappointment," Brugler wrote. "And while the Vikings shouldn't (and won't) give up on him just yet, there is still a need for a potential No. 1 receiver for Bridgewater. And Parker, Bridgewater's former teammate at Louisville, fills that need."

ESPN's Todd McShay also has the Vikings taking Parker in his second mock draft.

Kiper isn't the first big name to connect White and Minnesota. Josh Norris of Rotoworld had White going at No. 11 in his Feb. 2 mock.  

"Kevin White is a superior prospect to Amari Cooper and would be a perfect fit for Teddy Bridgewater since he wins in both the big and small receiver games," Norris wrote. "I was ready to project a left tackle here, but it seems the Vikings will give Matt Kalil at least one more shot."

NFL.com's Lance Zierlein was one of the few to step outside the box. His Feb. 5 mock projects the Vikings will select Pittsburgh offensive tackle T.J. Cummings. 

Minnesota likely has bigger needs outside of receiver, including on the offensive line. The Vikings will return right guard Brandon Fusco and right tackle Phil Loadholt from injury, but left guard is a need position, and Matt Kalil is coming off arguably the worst year turned in by a starting NFL left tackle in 2014.

As a rookie, Bridgewater was beaten and battered behind one of the game's worst pass-protecting lines. 

On defense, the Vikings will likely be unsettled at two starting linebacker positions, especially if veteran Chad Greenway becomes a cap casualty. Mike Zimmer defenses are always in the hunt for defensive linemen, and it wouldn't be shocking if Minnesota added a cornerback or safety at some point. 

There's also the issue of Adrian Peterson and his status in Minnesota. If he's jettisoned, the Vikings might find themselves in the market for a running back to complement 2014 draft pick Jerrick McKinnon. 

Receiver is jumbled in somewhere in the mix, but the position is certainly quantifiable as a need. 

	Rec	Yards	Avg.	TD
G. Jennings	59	742	12.6	6
J. Wright	42	588	14.0	2
C. Patterson	33	384	11.6	1
C. Johnson*	31	475	15.3	2
A. Thielen	8	137	17.1	1

No Vikings receiver caught more than 60 passes or totaled more than 800 yards in 2014, despite Greg Jennings (59 catches, 742 yards) and Cordarrelle Patterson (33, 384) each playing in all 16 games. Minnesota has Jennings, Patterson, Charles Johnson (31, 475) and Jarius Wright (42, 588) under contract for 2015, but the group is more or less a collection of No. 2 and No. 3 receivers. 

Jennings, who will turn 32 in September, is no longer a bona fide No. 1. He excels in the slot, but his last 1,000-yard season came way back in 2010. 

Few second-year players were as disappointing in 2014 as Patterson, who has struggled mightily in his development as a pure receiver. He came into the NFL as a raw player, and he remains mostly raw nearly 24 months later. The Vikings aren't giving up on him yet, but it's worth wondering if Patterson's role in the NFL will be nothing more than a gadget player and return specialist. 

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

Johnson was a pleasant surprise after arriving off Cleveland's practice squad in late September. He averaged four catches for 59 yards over Minnesota's final seven games. He also made as many big plays down the field for Bridgewater as any other receiver had all season. His size and upside remain intriguing, but his ability to be a legitimate No. 1 receiver has to be considered a big question mark. 

Wright, at 5'10" and 182 pounds, is a slot-only target with serious wheels. His best role is probably as a No. 3 or No. 4 receiver. 

Adam Thielen, who also saw playing time late last season, caught eight passes for 137 yards and a touchdown. While Thielen is a great special teams asset, the Vikings can't know what his true upside is as a receiver playing significant snaps. 

White, Parker and Cooper all possess the talent and physical ability to be legitimate No. 1 receivers in the NFL. 

White has an ideal frame at 6'3" and 210 pounds. Cut from the Larry Fitzgerald mold, he consistently wins across all areas of the field despite not having top-end speed. 

Various NFL teams have pegged White as the draft's top receiver, according to Miller:

Parker possesses a similar frame as White at 6'3" and 211 pounds. His freakish leaping ability and NBA-like wingspan provides Parker with an impressive catch radius, which he used to devastating effect down the field and in the red zone. He also brings the added benefit of having played for several years with Bridgewater at Louisville. 

Speed shouldn't be an issue. 

"When you watch him, he's kind of a long-strider, so you don't necessarily think he's that fast," NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah said, via NFL.com's Mike Huguenin. "But I've been told he's going to run in the high 4.3s/low 4.4s (in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine)."

Cooper is two inches shorter than both at 6'1", but his game is smooth as butter. The skills that made him hyper-productive at Alabama figure to translate to the next level. 

"Amari is super athletic, very fluid and highly skilled as a route runner and hands catcher," Senior Bowl director Phil Savage told Zierlein. "Because of his reserved demeanor and similar ability, I compared him to Marvin Harrison during the season."

While mock drafts in February have little bearing on what will actually happen come late April, early projections make it likely the Vikings will have a chance at selecting one of the three receivers. 

Of the 10 teams picking ahead of Minnesota, only three have a clear, obvious need at receiver: the Raiders at No. 4 overall, the New York Jets at No. 6 and the St. Louis Rams at No. 10.

And the risk in taking a young receiver has certainly diminished in recent years, as the college game continues to produce ready-made stars. In 2014 alone, the likes of Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr. and Kelvin Benjamin arrived on the scene as first-round picks and produced big numbers immediately. The value in taking a receiver in the first round is still there, especially given the incoming crop at the top of the 2015 class. 

There's added value for the Vikings in terms of providing more playmakers around a young, promising quarterback. Bridgewater continually made strides as a rookie despite a tumultuous and chaotic situation around him. It stands to reason his development could be accelerated with a legitimate No. 1 receiver inserted into his offense. 

The Vikings have no need to reach for any one position, including receiver. But early projections on the 2015 draft make it likely Minnesota will be in position to match value and need with one of the three bona fide first-round receiving talents. 

Zach Kruse covers the NFC North for Bleacher Report. 

Follow @zachkruse2