Minnesota Vikings 2021 NFL Draft tracker and updates
By Adam Carlson
Vikings fill out the roster on Day 3
There wasn’t much to complain about when looking at the draft so far for the Minnesota Vikings. The team’s major needs were addressed well and a focus on fixing the offensive line should pay dividends for Kirk Cousins and the offense.
Minnesota’s focus so far has been improving in the trenches. Talent has been added on both sides of the ball while looking to win now as well as looking forward to the future, providing a good balance of talent.
Minnesota came into Saturday with six picks. Those selections will bring in some high-potential players the Vikings hope will develop into contributors or slipped through the cracks during the draft process to become stars in the league.
Here are the picks the team had available.
- Round 4: No. 119 overall
- Round 4: No. 125 overall
- Round 4: No. 134 overall
- Round 5: No. 157 overall
- Round 5: No. 168 overall
- Round 6: No. 199 overall
Now, let’s see what the Minnesota Vikings did with those picks.
A running back goes first at No. 119 overall
Kene Nwangwu won’t have to go very far. The Iowa State rusher comes to Minnesota to compete for a spot in the running backs room as well as on special teams, where he flashed as a kickoff return specialist.
The 6’1 and 201 pound running back only had four touchdowns in 48 games played and never had more than 400 rushing yards in a season, but his average of 5.2 yards per carry could make him interesting on offense.
Mike Zimmer gets a defensive back at No. 125 overall
It wouldn’t be a Vikings draft without a defensive back coming to Minnesota. Cal defender Camryn Bynum will likely move to safety for the NFL where he will compete for a backup role with the Vikings.
Standing six feet tall and weighs 200 pounds, Bynum defended 28 passes in 32 games while totaling 184 tackles (eight for a loss) and grabbing six interceptions.
More pass rush arrives with No. 134 overall
Minnesota will have a ton of talent available at defensive end for preseason and Janarius Robinson out of Florida State will be one of the individuals fighting for a post on the roster or the Vikings practice squad.
In his final 21 games with FSU, Robinson had 73 tackles with 16 of those being for a loss and six registered as quarterback sacks.
Pick No. 157 overall is used on an Iowa wide receiver
Considering a lack of depth at wide receiver for the Vikings, it is a bit surprising to see the team wait so long to choose one. However, there is a lot to love with the speedy Ihmir Smith-Marsette out of Iowa.
Standing 6’1 and weighing 179 pounds, Smith-Marsette caught 110 passes for 1,615 yards and 14 touchdowns in 43 games played while gaining 1,520 on 53 kickoff returns and adding two more scores.
Tight end (and maybe punter) is addressed at No. 168
Central Missouri prospect Zach Davidson should be a fun one to watch. A punter converted to tight end thanks to his athleticism and basketball background isn’t something fans see every day, but there are some good reasons to be excited about him.
Being nearly 6’7 could help him become an easy mismatch against smaller NFL defenders and provide a massive target for Kirk Cousins in the red zone or short-yardage situations. As he grows and develops as a tight end, he could become a monster.
Pick No. 199 sees the Vikings land an interior defensive tackle
Minnesota invested heavily in a beefy defensive line and bringing in Pitt defender Jaylen Twyman is quite a value at this point in the draft. He is one heck of a name to finish up the Vikings draft class with since he is built like a brick house.
Twyman sat out in 2020 but had an amazing 2019 campaign. In his 13 games, he accumulated 41 total tackles with 12 of those being for a loss and 10.5 resulting in a quarterback sack. If he was bigger than his 6’2 and 290-pound frame, odds are that he would have been selected much sooner.
The 2021 NFL Draft is complete and the Minnesota Vikings seem to have been content in letting the players fall to them without moving around too much with their picks outside of the first round. Congrats to all the new members of the Minnesota Vikings!