Minnesota Vikings: Biggest needs going into draft day 2

The Minnesota Vikings still have plenty of needs to address as the second day of the draft begins.

The Minnesota Vikings’ single biggest need going into the draft was a wide receiver, and they addressed that need by taking Laquon Treadwell with the #23 overall pick.

It was a nice start but the Vikings still have a lot of work to do.

Going into the second day of the draft, what are the Vikings’ biggest remaining needs? Here’s how I would rank them.

1. Safety

Minnesota this offseason re-signed veteran Andrew Sendejo and picked up even-older veteran Michael Griffin, but those were only stop-gap moves. Going into the second round, safety is the most glaring weak-spot on the defense and the Vikings might want to address it.

The good news is that there are a bunch of good safeties on the board as day 2 begins. The list is headed up by T.J. Green of Clemson, a big, fast player who visited the Vikings in Minnesota. Some question Green’s tackling ability but he has great range. Ohio State’s Vonn Bell, another player with great range, is also still on the board.

One intriguing option here is Su’a Cravens, a guy who played linebacker in college but is listed by some teams as a safety. Cravens has a unique mix of skills and is the kind of versatile player Mike Zimmer might love having.

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Boise State safety Darian Thompson is still out there but his lack of coverage skill might be an issue.

2. Offensive line

Whether you’re talking guard or tackle, the Minnesota Vikings would surely like to add more talent to the O-line mix on the second day.

Indiana’s Jason Spriggs is probably the best tackle remaining on the board. He had an impressive combine and was a player some folks were mocking to the Vikings early in the process. One player the Vikings showed a lot of interest in who is still on the board (as of now) is guard Cody Whitehair. He has drawn comparisons to Cowboys guard Zack Martin.

If the Vikings choose to address the center position, Missouri’s Evan Boehm is still on the board. Le’Raven Clark of Texas Tech is another tackle who is still available. When it comes to players with medical red flags who might drop into the third day, there’s Shon Coleman of Auburn. Coleman battled cancer early in his college career but came back to be a productive player and could provide good value.

If you want to stay local, there’s Joe Haeg of North Dakota State.

3. Linebacker

Oh yeah, that Myles Jack guy is still on the board.

The Vikings picked up several linebackers in free agency but going into the draft there was still a lot of talk about them maybe adding more talent at the position. Myles Jack would undoubtedly add talent, but concerns about his knee caused him to fall all the way out of the first.

Another interesting linebacker prospect with medical red flags is Reggie Ragland of Alabama. Ragland was projected as a first-rounder but late news about a condition involving his aorta may have scared some teams off. The middle linebacker visited the Vikings.

Beyond Jack and Ragland there aren’t a lot of interesting options remaining at linebacker. If the Vikings can’t get either of those guys, they probably won’t address the position in the second or third.

4. Defensive tackle

There was a lot of talk going into the draft about all the depth at defensive tackle. As expected, a lot of really good players dropped into the second round as a result of there being so much talent at the position.

A’Shawn Robinson of Alabama was regarded as a top-15 talent by some but he’s still on the board. The more he drops, the bigger value pick he will be for some team.

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Another Alabama guy still on the board is run-stuffing Jarran Reed. I don’t know if it’s significant but Reed wore Vikings colors during the first round.

Mississippi State’s Chris Jones is still on the board as well. He’s a versatile player who could move around to a lot of different spots.

When it comes to bigger guys who might make good nose tackles, there’s Austin Johnson of Penn State and Andrew Billings of Baylor. There was a lot of steam at one point about the Vikings being high on Billings, and he might still be there when the Vikes pick at #54.

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