Stephen Weatherly, Jayron Kearse are Vikings final two picks

Stephen Weatherly, a linebacker from Vanderbilt, and Jayron Kearse, a safety from Clemson, were the Vikings’ final two picks of the 2016 draft.

The Vikings closed out the 2016 draft by taking a pair of defensive players with possible upside.

With the 227th overall pick, the Vikings drafted Vanderbilt pass rusher Stephen Weatherly. Though Weatherly played linebacker in college, he projects as a defensive end with the Vikings.

The 6-4, 267-pound Weatherly seems like a classic Mike Zimmer project. Long and tall, Weatherly has the makings of a solid nickel pass rusher at the next level. He possesses good measurables but scouts say he needs to work on developing more pass rush moves.

With their second pick in the seventh round, and their final pick in this year’s draft, the Vikings took Clemson safety Jayron Kearse. Earlier in the draft, the Vikings took Kearse’s teammate Mackensie Alexander. Kearse is the nephew of former Titans DE Javon Kearse.

The 6-4 Jayron Kearse has tremendous size for a safety and can run like mad, but many scouts think his long, lanky body type won’t work at the safety position in the NFL. Kearse was a big hitter at the college level so there’s no question about his willingness to mix it up. Some experts think Kearse has enough range to develop into an effective center fielder.

Weatherly and Kearse are both very athletic players who will come into camp as big question marks. Whether either man will actually catch on is hard to say.

Next: David Morgan to Vikings in 6th

And with that, the NFL draft ends for the Vikings. The final tally for Minnesota: 8 picks, 4 each on offense and defense. The Vikings got two new wide receivers, one offensive lineman, one tight end, one cornerback, one safety, one linebacker and one defensive end.

And now comes the process of signing undrafted free agents. We’ll see what gems Rick Spielman can turn up this year.