Which offensive players should the Minnesota Vikings be watching during the 2021 Senior Bowl?
The Minnesota Vikings should currently be in full NFL Draft preparation mode and the first major milestone as they begin that long march to the last weekend in April is the Senior Bowl.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic still existing, the Senior Bowl is a go this year, and some of the best college talent in the nation will gather in Mobile, Alabama to be put through an abundance of tests, drills, interviews, and of course, the game itself.
The Senior Bowl carries a little more weight this season as the NFL Scouting Combine has essentially been canceled. The Senior Bowl will be a team’s best chance to get up close and personal with some of these prospects.
They will be able to look at what a prospect can do on the field and get a sense of what makes them tick through the interview process.
The Vikings have plenty of needs on the offensive side of the ball and they should watch some of these offensive prospects more closely than others. Minnesota will surely have their eye on some offensive linemen who can improve the protection for Kirk Cousins and the team could also use a talent infusion in their receiving corps, among other needs.
Let’s take a look at five offensive prospects the Vikings should watch closely this week at the Senior Bowl and during the game itself.
Nico Collins – WR (Michigan)
The Vikings have one of the better wide receiver duos in the league in Adam Thielen and breakout rookie sensation Justin Jefferson. The depth behind those two is where the problem lies and the team needs to bring in some talent via the draft.
Bisi Johnson took a major step backward in 2020, catching zero touchdowns and hauling in about half as many balls as he did his rookie season. K.J. Osborn was a non-factor as a pass catcher and Chad Beebe is strictly a slot guy. Minnesota needs to strengthen this unit as a whole and one element they lack with the current group is a big-bodied pass catcher.
A guy who would fill that role for the team is Michigan’s Nico Collins. Measuring in at 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Collins scored 13 career touchdowns with 78 total receptions for 1,388 yards during his time in college.
The Senior Bowl week of practices and the game itself will be huge for Collins’ draft stock, as he opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns. He can give the Vikings that big red zone target that they currently lack in their receiving corps and he is also a guy who can go up and high point the ball for a key reception.
It’s hard to say at this point where Collins will come off the board in this year’s draft. He is probably someone Minnesota could land with one of their many third or fourth-round choices and he could potentially carve out a role as early as his rookie season.
Deonte Brown – OG (Alabama)
The Vikings definitely need a guard in this year’s draft and probably even two. Minnesota’s interior offensive line is extremely maligned at this point, with right guard Ezra Cleveland being the only current player worth bringing back, and it’s unclear if his future is even at his current position.
The Vikings need to possibly use their first-round pick in 2021 on this position. But if they wait until later in the draft, landing a guy like Deonte Brown would be huge.
Brown is a massive human being as he weighed in at 364 pounds at this year’s Senior Bowl. He moves surprisingly well for being so huge and he only allowed half a sack in 843 snaps last season at Alabama.
Minnesota will keep a close eye on this big man and will surely envision him gobbling up defenders to help keep Kirk Cousins upright in 2021. Brown would also be a huge asset in the run game as he could easily move defenders off the line to create huge running lanes for Dalvin Cook to trot through.
The problem for Brown landing on the Vikings is that he’s someone who could end up going early on the second day. Minnesota doesn’t have a second-round pick thanks to the Yannick Ngakoue trade and that could cost them a chance at landing this big dude.
If he falls to the third round, the Vikings should waste little time using a pick on him as he would vastly improve the team’s worst position.
Dillon Radunz – OT (North Dakota State)
Guard isn’t the only position on the offensive line the Vikings will be looking to upgrade during this year’s NFL Draft. While Minnesota’s tackle situation isn’t as dire as their guard one, they have some questions they need to answer before the draft.
The big one is what are they going to do with Riley Reiff? The dude played very well in 2020 and he was one of the biggest pleasant surprises for the Vikings.
The issue is that he has a $13.95 million cap hit next season and he is 32-years-old. Does Minnesota want to pay him for one more season when they possibly already have his replacement on the roster?
That replacement is obviously Ezra Cleveland, who is the second part of this conundrum. Do the Vikings want to keep Cleveland at right guard and roll with Reiff at left tackle again in 2021? Or do they want to make the future now, cut Reiff, save valuable cap space, and make Cleveland their new starting left tackle?
Minnesota could also decide that Cleveland’s future will remain at guard but still cut Reiff, which would put them in play for a new left tackle.
That guy could be Dillon Radunz from North Dakota State. Radunz is a 6-foot-5, 304-pound mammoth who is mean as hell, and he’s got a nice long wingspan to keep defenders off of him.
The biggest question about him will be how he holds up against elite competition, so the drills he participates in at the Senior Bowl this week will be huge in determining where he ends up on the draft board this year.
If he makes it to the third round, he could be a huge asset to the Vikings’ offensive line as a key backup and potential starter down the road.
Jamie Newman – QB (Wake Forest)
The Vikings could use an upgrade over Sean Mannion as their backup quarterback. It would also be refreshing to have that quarterback be a young player who can develop into the starter down the road.
While Minnesota probably won’t be able to land this player with the 14th pick, one guy they could look at in the mid-rounds would be Jamie Newman from Wake Forest.
Newman fits the mold of the dual-threat quarterback that is dominating the NFL today. He can throw a pretty deep ball, but he can also take off to make plays and buy extra time with his legs.
Newman threw for nearly 4,000 yards in his college career in addition to tossing 35 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He also rushed for 826 yards and 10 scores.
This type of dynamic dual-threat quarterback is something the Vikings haven’t had since the glory days of Daunte Culpepper. Having this type of player on the roster would be a breath of fresh air.
This week will be huge for Newman as he opted out of the 2020 season after transferring to Georgia. He will need to show that he is in shape, and he will need to quiet any concerns about him looking rusty by throwing accurate balls and quickly picking up the offense he is running.
Newman is an interesting prospect. He’s one Minnesota should target to be their backup in 2021 and potentially develop into something more while sitting behind Kirk Cousins.
Creed Humphrey – G/C (Oklahoma)
Addressing the offensive line will be a huge priority for the Vikings in this year’s draft and another player they should keep close tabs on at the Senior Bowl is Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey.
Humphrey is a tough as nails lineman who is a former wrestler. His wrestling background has come in handy as it has helped Humphrey understand the nuances of leverage and how to use it to his advantage against bigger defenders.
Creed is also extremely intelligent and powerful. This cat was benching 400 pounds and squatting 600 as a freshman. While he isn’t an exceptional athlete, he doesn’t really have to be, as he can win with his power, smarts, and technique. He hasn’t allowed a sack in two seasons and that would be a welcome addition to Minnesota’s offensive line.
There are two big questions concerning Humphrey’s fit with the Vikings. The first one is will he be available when they are on the clock in the third round of the draft? This could end up being unlikely if he has a strong showing down in Mobile.
The other question is that if Minnesota drafts him, does he stay at center or move to guard? Garrett Bradbury hasn’t exactly been a rockstar during his first two seasons at center with the Vikings. He’s been decent, but Minnesota would have to decide which one of these blockers they would move inside to guard.
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Either way, adding a player like Humphrey would bolster the Vikings’ offensive line, and worst case, he would bring the interior depth up to at least a level of respectability.