Minnesota Vikings draft: Rick Spielman talks D-line depth

Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman touted this year’s deep field of draft prospects at defensive line.

Defensive line doesn’t jump out as an area of immediate need for the Minnesota Vikings this year, but that doesn’t mean they won’t look to add front-four talent in the draft.

Not saying the Vikings will look to target defensive line in round one or even round two. But that’s the great thing about it. This year’s field of draft prospects at D-line is so deep say experts, you could potentially get yourself a first-round talent in the third.

Don’t think Rick Spielman and his scouts aren’t aware of how many quality defensive linemen there are out there. Spielman made special mention of the D-line depth in a chat with reporters Wednesday morning from the combine (via Vikings.com):

"“Just looking at the whole big picture, I think the defensive line is one of the strongest I’ve seen in a long time…”“There are some good DBs, there are some talented linebackers, but this is a deep class,” Spielman added. “I mean, we spent almost 13 hours on defensive linemen one day, just because of the depth of the defensive line.”"

The Vikings seem set on the line with Everson Griffen, Sharrif Floyd, Linval Joseph, Brian Robison, Danielle Hunter and Tom Johnson all ready to return in 2016. Of those six, only Sharrif Floyd is entering a contract year.

On Floyd: the former first-round pick has shown flashes of potential dominance but has also had a hard time avoiding injury. It’s possible the Vikings are reluctant to lock him up to a long-term deal because of the injury issues.

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So, perhaps the Vikings would like to give themselves a little insurance at defensive tackle by drafting one in a year where the talent at that position is unusually deep?

Just spitballing here. But it’s maybe something to keep in mind.