5 prospects the Vikings don’t want to see in the NFC North in 2020

Derrick Brown – DT

Here’s another guy who is going to be selected early in this year’s NFL Draft and the only chance of him ending up in the NFC North is if he’s taken by the Lions, which could certainly happen.

Detroit probably wouldn’t take him at pick No. 3. But if they moved down the board a bit, they could still end up with this big disruptor and plug him in the middle of their defense.

The Vikings interior of their offensive line struggled at times with big, strong defensive lineman last season. They were destroyed by the Chicago Bears’ Nick Williams and the Denver Broncos’ Shelby Harris. Those two aren’t nearly as talented as Derrick Brown and if he ended up with the Lions, it wouldn’t be good news for Minnesota’s interior blockers.

Brown is huge. He stands at 6-foot-5 and he tips the scales at 326 pounds. He is explosive off the snap and he uses his quick jump to blow by blockers on his way to the quarterback.

Brown also excels at anchoring against the run and using his huge frame to clog running lanes. In fact, this is probably the strength of his game at this point in his career. But he’s got the ability to be a three-down defensive tackle who doesn’t come off the field.

The Vikings will be very happy if the Lions go with Jeffrey Okudah over Brown because he’s someone who could really give Garrett Bradbury and company a lot of trouble over the next five years.