5 prospects who moved down the Vikings’ draft board after the Combine
By Nik Edlund
Dalton Risner – OL (Kansas State)
Risner didn’t perform badly at the combine. It’s more like his workout gave scouts and teams a better understanding of where he should be taken.
Prior to the combine, there was talk of Risner being a possibility for the Vikings at pick No. 18. After the combine, Minnesota’s second-round selection (50th) seems like a more realistic option.
This isn’t knocking Risner, as he’s still likely to be a very solid starting guard in the NFL. It’s just that he has some physical limitations.
Risner’s bench press was disappointing. He only put up 23 reps and teams had to be hoping for more from him. His 40-yard dash time was also towards the bottom of all the offensive linemen at the combine.
Risner also doesn’t really stick out when standing amongst his peers. On the field, he looked just kind of like a normal dude, when there were bigger and more intimidating men standing around him.
One other thing about Risner was that after the combine he was on Twitter defending himself against trolls knocking him for his 5.3 time in the 40-yard dash by pointing out his time in the 20-yard shuttle. Teams don’t really like seeing guys do that stuff on Twitter and they would rather see them take the high road and keep their mouths shut.
Risner is a well-spoken guy and he almost assuredly nailed his interviews with teams at the combine. This guy is likely going to be a longtime starter in the NFL, but he still may never be a perennial Pro Bowl caliber player.
He’s definitely someone the Vikings will consider in the second round and they could even move back up into the end of the first round to make sure they get him.