Minnesota Vikings: 5 possible late-round defensive targets

The Minnesota Vikings could target one of these five lesser-known defensive prospects in the late rounds of the draft.

The Vikings will have some interesting options if they want to beef up their defensive depth in the later rounds of the draft, or perhaps take a chance on a player who has talent but has slipped a little bit for one reason or another.

Could one of these guys end up being a steal? Maybe. What you’re mostly hoping is that you can identify a few players who have a chance to stick and become good backups for you down the road. Audie Cole was a late-round pick by the Vikings a few years ago and he’s become a mainstay. The later rounds of the draft are also where you find your special teams players.

One thing you know for sure: the Vikings have done their homework on a lot of players. By now they’ve no doubt identified multiple players they hope will be there for them when the sixth and seventh rounds roll around. Rick Spielman likes to trade back in the later rounds and accumulate more picks and there’s no reason to think that won’t happen again this year.

By the time the draft is over the Vikings will have many more players to look at in OTAs, minicamp and training camp. Maybe one of these five guys will be on that list. Maybe one of these five guys will turn out to be a good player one day. Who’s to say?