5 prospects the Vikings should target on Day 3 of the 2021 NFL Draft

Daviyon Nixon – DT (Iowa)

One prospect who is shockingly still on the board is Iowa’s Daviyon Nixon. This is a guy who was getting some first-round love early in the draft season, but he was universally expected to be selected in the second round, or worst case, in the early portions of round three.

But he’s still on the board and this is surprising unless there is a medical red flag that the general public isn’t aware of.

Nixon is an exceptional athlete for a defensive tackle. He’s extremely quick off the ball and he can blow by blockers before they are even out of their stances. He’s got great overall speed and he was very productive in his run with the Hawkeyes.

He almost looks like an oversized linebacker and perhaps that is why he’s still on the board as he just doesn’t have the overall bulk that most teams look for in interior defenders.

Nixon also tends to guess where a play is going and he uses his eyes more than his head when diagnosing a play at times. That being said, there’s no real good reason why this talented player is still available as we head toward the third and final day of the 2021 draft.

The Vikings could use another player on their defensive tackle depth chart and Nixon should be snapped up with one of their many fourth-round choices.