This mock really took me a long time. It was so hard to figure out what route we will go under Kwesi and KOC given this is only their second offseason. This was also a year where there were quite a few veteran cap cuts which opened up a lot of holes. I only changed my mind 100 times throughout this mock.
Just remember, this is meant to be fun. I always say, I'm not saying this is what's going to happen. Will it be correct, not even close. I have hit on a decent number of signings and picks over the years but it's next to impossible to ever get these anywhere near correct but I know you guys enjoy the read. I look to assess our current needs as best as I can and keep it as realistic as possible.
I will say, I do a lot of research on these guys and if you look at my previous mocks, many of the guys I have us selecting may not be making an impact for us but they are making a big impact elsewhere. I have also hit on quite a few of our picks/signings over the past 10 years doing this. I actually had us drafting Akayleb Evans last year.
REMEMBER ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!!!!
2023 Staff Changes
DC- Brian Flores- I think Kwesi and KOC are looking for something young and aggressive and Flores is the answer.
2023 Vikings Free Agents/Cuts/Restructures/Trades
In-House Unrestricted Free Agents Retained
DT- Dalvin Tomlinson- Resigned- 2 years
CB- Duke Shelley- Resigned- 2 years
C- Austin Schlottman- Resigned- 1 year
QB- Nick Mullens- Resigned- 1 year
DT- Khyiris Tonga- Resigned- 2 years
OT- Oli Udoh- Resigned- 1 year
DT- Jonathan Bullard- Resigned- 1 year
CB- Kris Boyd- Resigned- 1 year
K- Greg Joseph- Resigned- 1 year
LS- Andrew DePaola- Resigned- 3 years
……we didnt re-sign many big name players outside of Tomlinson but we’re looking to rebuild this defense and move on from aging veterans.
In-House Unrestricted Free Agents to Walk
CB- Patrick Peterson- I wanted to keep Peterson but given we’re putting a more aggressive defense on the field, we need guys that have the legs to cover
C- Garrett Bradbury- even though Bradbury was better this year, we need to find someone that can hold the pocket in the middle of this line.
RB- Alexander Mattison- thought about keeping him as well but we’re going to shift towards Ty Chandler
CB- Chandon Sullivan- Sullivan was very so-so in the slot this year. I think there are better options on the open market.
TE- Irv Smith Jr.- pretty self explanatory after trading for Hockenson
TE- Ben Ellefson- can find a guy like Ellefson anywhere
OT- Blake Brandel- I personally thought Udoh was a better fill-in tackle than Brandel was.
DE- Kenny Willekes- Constantly hurt and no reason to keep around.
WR- Bisi Johnson- Time is up here.
C- Greg Mancz- Already picked up off waivers by the Bills.
…….. Here we let some bigger names walk but think it’s needed with what we’re trying to do. I was tempted to re-sign a couple of these guys but moving on sounded like the better plan.
CUTS
LB- Eric Kendricks- saves $9.5 million
LB- Jordan Hicks- saves $5 million
WR- Adam Thielen- saves $6 million (although I can see them doing some sort of restructure and trade) or waiting until post-June 1 where it will save them $13 million.
FB- CJ Ham- saves $3 million
OG/C- Chris Reed- saves $2.5 million
DT- Ross Blacklock- saves $1.6 million
….. Some much needed cuts here. This helps us get younger and save a good chunk of change.
TRADES
Vikings trade RB Dalvin Cook and a 2023 5th round pick to the Baltimore Ravens for LB Patrick Queen
-Clears $7.9 million prior to Queen’s money. With Baltimore locking up Roquon Smith long term and Queen becoming a FA next year, they move in a different direction and add to a depleted RB room.
Vikings trade OLB ZaDarius Smith to the Atlanta Falcons for a 2023 4th round pick and 7th round pick
-Clears $12.1 million. I know ZaDarius did a lot to help the culture in this building but given the little dead money in his contract, we save a substantial amount by trading or cutting him. But he’s still trade worthy so we move him to Atlanta.
Vikings trade CB Cameron Dantzler to the Las Vegas Raiders for a 2023 5th round pick
-Saves $2.7 million. Given we’re dipping into FA for corners and also have two young corners in Booth and Evans, Dantzler becomes expendable.
…….Kwesi hits the trade phones hard this year making some solid moves. In the end, we technically trade away Dalvin Cook, ZaDarius Smith, Cam Dantzler and a 5th round pick for Patrick Queen, a 4th round pick, 5th round pick and 7th round pick and save over $22 million prior to Queen’s contract. I think that is a win.
EXTENSIONS
WR- Justin Jefferson- 5 years- going to be crazy money but I believe he’s worth it.
DE- Danielle Hunter- 3 years- still think he’s the best player on this defense and a must keep until the wheels fall off.
TE- TJ Hockenson- 5 years- was a massive move by Kwesi to get Hockenson. He is going to be a huge part of the future in Minnesota.
RESTRUCTURED
RT- Brian O’Neill- saves $10 million- nothing wrong with pushing money down the line here. O’Neill will be a staple on the right side for a long time.
With all these moves, this could save us a good chunk of money in cap space. This free agency I’m looking to get some above average to solid veterans.
CB- Jamel Dean- 4 years
-One of the best corners on the market, we need to improve our DBs. Dean should immediately do that.
IDL- Dre’Mont Jones- 3 years
-We need to get better on the inside and Jones gives us a pass rushing presence which is much needed.
EDGE- Arden Key- 2 years
-Been a man crush of mine since he was at LSU. He’s never been given a starting opportunity but all the numbers show he should. He’s getting constant pressure every time he’s in the game. He played in Jacksonville on a 1 year $4 million deal so he could come pretty cheap to us.
RB- Damian Harris- 2 years
-Damian Harris showed some workhorse ability in NE and provides a good 1-2 punch with Chandler
OG- Chandler Brewer- 1 year- RFA offer
-Brewer is another guy that has played under KOC in LA. As banged up as the Rams OL was this year, Brewer didnt give up any sacks in 228 snaps. Brewer is an RFA but was not drafted so no draft compensation will be given up.
CB- Bryce Callahan- 1 year
-Callahan has been solid for quite a while now and had a good year in LA. He comes in playing in a similar scheme to Evero’s in the past.
WR- Keelan Cole- 1 year
-Coach McCardell is a big Cole fan. We bring him in as depth at the position.
LB- Devin Bush- 1 year
-Bush had a rough start to his career after being a first round pick. This is a Flores signing, provides some depth, starting experience and speed.
-Kwesi and KOC start off the draft by trading down.
The Minnesota Vikings trade their 1st round pick (23rd) to the Kansas City for their 1st round pick (31st) and their 2nd round pick (63rd)
Round 1 (31st) (via Kansas City)
WR- Jalin Hyatt- Tennessee
-Some may not see WR as the big need that I do. We need to find a way to take pressure off of JJ. Hyatt’s field stretching ability will do just that and is an explosive #2 to add to this offense.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Imfl_N9WgKo
Kwesi and KOC find an opportunity to trade up
The Minnesota Vikings trade their 2nd round pick (63rd via Kansas City) and their 4th round pick (111th via Atlanta) to the Pittsburgh Steelers for their 2nd round pick (50th)
Round 2 (50th) (via Pittsburgh)
EDGE- Will McDonald IV- Iowa St.
-McDonald is an excellent pass rusher. He's a high motor player with great agility off the edge. Has a spin move that reminds me a lot of Everson.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45ZJDV7NIUY
Round 2 (56th) -NO PICK (traded to Detroit)
Round 2 (63rd) -NO PICK (traded to Pittsburgh)
The front office finds another opportunity to trade up
The Minnesota Vikings trade their 3rd round pick (88th), 6th round pick (216th comp) and their 4th round pick in 2024 to the Los Angeles Rams for their 3rd round pick (70th)
Round 3 (70th via LA Rams)
QB- Hendon Hooker- Tennessee
-Why not get Hooker to pair with Hyatt? Hooker would’ve been a first rounder if it wasnt for the injury. In turn, he falls into the early 3rd round and at a range where we can trade up and find Kirk’s successor.
Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waTp0YLhxvo
Round 4 (111th) (via Atlanta) NO PICK (traded to Pittsburgh)
Round 4 (120th) (via Detroit)
C- John Michael Schmitz- Minnesota
-Had a great week at the senior bowl showing great anchor in his pass protection. He will be a plug and play center for us week 1
Round 4 (127th) -NO PICK (traded to Cleveland)
Round 5 (147th) (via Las Vegas)
LB- Isaiah Moore- NC State
-Moore went down with a season ending knee injury this year. However, prior to that injury he was a beast for NC State. Hoping he returns to 100%, he would be good value and depth at this stage of the draft.
Round 5 (167th) -NO PICK (traded to Baltimore)
Round 6 (202nd) -NO PICK (traded to Houston)
Round 6 (215th) (projected compensatory for Xavier Woods)
CB- Jakorian Bennett- Maryland
-Bennett should be best fit as a slot corner in the NFL and could fill in for Bryce Callahan in 2024
Round 6 (216th) (projected compensatory for Mason Cole) -NO PICK (traded to LA Rams)
Round 7 (227th) (via Atlanta)
TE- Brayden Willis- Oklahoma
-Willis provides some depth at TE behind Hockenson and Mundt.
Round 7 (231st) -NO PICK (traded to Pittsburgh)
Projected 2022 Roster
Bold is free agent signing
Underlined is rookie
Italics is trade
I’m not going to predict who the final 53 are but here is who what we’d have….
OFFENSE
QB- Cousins / Hooker / Mullens
RB- Chandler / Harris / Nwangwu
WR1- Jefferson / Nailor
WR2- Hyatt / Cole
WR3- Osborn / Reagor
TE1- Hockenson / Mundt / Willis
LT- Darrisaw / Lowe
LG- Cleveland / Brewer
C- Schmitz / Schlottman
RG- Ingram / Brewer
RT- O’Neill / Udoh
DEFENSE
DE- Jones / Otomewo
NT- Phillips / Tonga
DE- Tomlinson / Bullard / Lynch
OLB- Hunter / Jones
OLB- Key / McDonald IV / Wonnum
ILB- Asamoah / Moore
ILB- Queen / Bush / Dye
CB1- Dean / Booth
CB2- Shelley / Evans / Boyd
Nickel- Callahan / Bennett
FS- Smith/ Metellus
SS- Cine / Bynum
SPECIAL TEAMS
K- Joseph
P- Wright
LS- DePaola
KR- Nwangwu
PR- Reagor
OVERALL: Man, so many routes we can go here. Took me a while just to pick one. Again, nothing guaranteed here, this is meant to just be a fun read. I think this still keeps us very competitive and I feel like we do a good job rebuilding this defense. In the end, we need to get these young players playing. Cine, Booth, Evans, Asamoah, etc. We HAVE to see what we’ve got in these guys.
OFFENSE reflection:
QB- Definitely some change here in the sense of getting a QB to take over after Kirk is gone. Notice here, I didnt give Cousins an extension and am letting him play out the final year of his contract. Hooker is a big target of mine because we’re not going to have a top pick for a QB but can still get a should-be first rounder late due to the injury Hooker had in college. The future here looks bright.
RB/FB- More change here. As I’ve mentioned in the past, this is the perfect time to trade Dalvin given the year he had and most importantly, he stayed healthy. Many might not be a fan of switching to Chandler but watching more of his tape from UNC, I think he can easily carry the load. I thought about keeping Mattison but decided to move on from him as well. We also cut CJ Ham here and shy away from using a FB anymore.
WR- I’ve been a big supporter of bringing in a legitimate #2 somehow, some way. In this situation, we go with a WR in round 1. Jefferson and Hyatt will be an unstoppable tandem for years to come.
TE- No real change here. Just some depth
OT- One position we were very good at leading into this offseason.
OG- Something we’ll need to possibly assess next year. Interested to see how both Cleveland and Ingram do this year. Hoping Ingram will make a 2nd year leap.
C- Given we let Bradbury walk, we bring in Schmitz as his day 1 replacement along with Schlottman for depth.
DEFENSE reflection:
IDL- We beef up a bit here by bringing in Jones and retaining Tomlinson. Tominson and Phillips will both hold their own but we desperately needed a pass rushing presence here and found Jones to fill that void.
EDGE- Some may not like the idea of trading Zadarius but the fact that it saves $12+ million is difficult to pass up. I personally think we lose very little if we bring in Arden Key. On top of that, drafting Will McDonald in round 2 helps a ton as well.
LB- A position that really needed some rebuilding. I think Asamoah will start no problem but finding a 2nd guy to go with him is going to be a big talking point. I chose to trade for Patrick Queen. I can see the Ravens shopping him because they arent going to want to pay both Roquon and Queen big money.
CB- Still not sold here but landing someone like Dean helps a ton. Callahan is more of a steady nickel corner. I didnt want to draft an early round corner because we need to see if Evans and/or Booth can develop and contribute in a big way this year. At worst, we have Shelley that can start.
S- A position we are really deep at. I think Cine for sure takes over this year and Metellus being the primary backup.
ST- No change here.
....Hope you guys enjoyed the read!!!
