The defensive line will be the biggest winner in this class
There are plenty of position groups that got reinforcements in the Vikings’ NFL Draft class, but the biggest winner may be the defensive line. In addition to adding D.J. Wonnum in the fourth round, the Vikings got a pair of prospects who should be able to provide depth on the back end.
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With the second of their three fourth-round picks, the Vikings selected James Lynch out of Baylor. While the Vikings usually focus on athleticism over production, Lynch was a beast with the Bears, collecting 13.5 sacks during his junior season and All-American honors. While his spider chart doesn’t spell out confidence, it shouldn’t be hard to improve on Shamar Stephen’s performance from last year, where he ranked 114th in overall grade, per Pro Football Focus.
The other key piece on the defensive line is defensive end Kenny Willekes, who slid all the way to the seventh round of the draft due to athleticism concerns. A workout video on his Twitter account did his best to dispel those rumors, and with 49 tackles for loss during his career, he knows how to get into the opponent’s backfield.
Justin Jefferson could blow up and the cornerbacks should step up to be long-term starters, but if the Minnesota Vikings can hit on two of their three defensive linemen in this draft, the Vikings defense should be able to rebuild on the fly.