6 players the Vikings passed on during the 2019 NFL Draft

Jaylon Ferguson – DE

It’s not news to anyone that Everson Griffen is starting to reach the final years of his NFL career. Griffen may have another impressive season or two in him, but the Vikings’ talented pass rusher likely won’t be in a purple uniform for much longer.

With Ferguson, Minnesota could have added a young defensive end with a ton of potential who could have sat and waited in the wings until Griffen’s spot eventually became available.

The former Louisiana Tech pass rusher needs a little fine tuning still, so him being able to sit back for a bit and learn from Vikings defensive line coach Andre Patterson could have produced another purple sack machine.

But Minnesota went in a different direction when Ferguson was still on the board in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft. The Vikings actually selected former Boise State running back Alexander Mattison with their pick in round three.

Mattison should be a solid backup behind Dalvin Cook in 2019, but Minnesota could have used their third-round selection to land a guy who might have developed into the franchise’s next elite pass rusher instead.