Vikings Draft 2021: Post-Super Bowl four-round mock draft
By Dean Jones
Which way will the Minnesota Vikings go with their bounty of 2021 NFL Draft picks?
This is one of the more important offseasons in recent memory for the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are coming off a 2020 season littered with inconsistencies that eventually ended without a playoff berth thanks in no small part to their disappointing opening to the campaign.
So what happens next in the coming weeks is going to have substantial ramifications for Minnesota’s long and short-term aspirations.
Not having much in the way of financial wiggle room with the salary-cap expected to come down this year due to revenue losses related to COVID-19 isn’t ideal. Some significant sacrifices need to be made by the Vikings ahead of free agency, with plenty of established veterans on the chopping block given the savings involved with their early departures.
Minnesota can take some solace from the fact they’ve got a bounty of picks in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft to bolster their roster on the cheap.
The Vikings are without a second-round selection this year following the ill-fated trade to acquire Yannick Ngakoue, who lasted just six games in 2020. But with seven choices in the first four rounds alone, there is a multitude of different avenues Minnesota could go down in the draft.
It sounds like the Vikings are willing to continue with quarterback Kirk Cousins for the foreseeable future, which makes building around him this offseason essential.
Cousins’ production after the bye week this past season was hugely encouraging. So if Minnesota can hit the ground running next time around, it might put them in a strong position for the postseason after missing out on it in 2020.
Let’s take a look at which incoming college prospects the Vikings could end up taking in this four-round mock draft.