Minnesota Vikings Draft 2020: Seven-round mock draft

Ben Bartch – OT (St John’s)

The final pick for the Vikings is a bit of a homer pick. Ben Bartch is a tight end who converted to left tackle from St John’s, which is a D-III college in Minnesota. Bartch caught the eyes of scouts in the preseason of this year and has been regarded as a big draft stock riser this year.

Like we’ve discussed earlier, it’s always good to get offensive line depth and that’s exactly what the Vikings are getting here. Bartch is a big developmental type of prospect considering he’s played in a small D-III school in the northern parts of Minnesota.

From what scouts have been saying, Bartch is one of the most athletic tackles in this class. This shouldn’t come to much of a surprise considering he was originally a tight end. He was a bigger tight end, weighing 285-pounds. He had to put on weight if he wanted to make the transition to tackle, which is what he did as he now weighs in at 305-pounds and stands 6-foot-6.

Bartch may be coming from a small school, but that shouldn’t shy the Vikings away from taking a chance on him late in the draft. Ali Marpet is a great example of a small school guy making it big in the NFL. Now, no one is saying he is going to be the caliber of player Marpet is, but there is potential there.

Not only is Bartch athletic, but the kid is as smart as they come. His plan for life after football is to become a Psychologist. If he’s able to understand psychology, he’s going to be able to understand blitzes and stunts like they’re nothing.

We’ve all heard the story of Adam Thielen, a small-town Minnesota kid who went to a Minnesota college. We may be looking at someone similar in Ben Bartch so put him on your radar.