Minnesota Vikings bolster offense in Round 5 of 2021 NFL Draft
By Adam Carlson
A couple of talented offensive players join the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Minnesota Vikings addressed a lot of needs and looked to the future with all their draft picks heading into the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft and there was still a lot of work to be done for Rick Spielman and company on the final day of the draft.
Coming into the round, there were still some needs the purple and gold needed to address. Finding a wide receiver to potentially be the No. 3 guy, more depth and competition on offense and defense, as well as special teams talent could have all been targets for the Vikings.
Minnesota had two picks available coming into Round 5: picks No. 157 and 168 overall. Let’s see what the Vikings were able to do with those picks.
A wide receiver comes to Minnesota at No. 157
At No. 157 overall, the Vikings stand pat and grab one of the top pass catchers still on the board. Iowa’s Ihmir Smith-Marsette. The 6’1 and 179-pound receiver caught 110 passes in his 43 games, finding the end zone a total of 14 times.
Smith-Marsette joins a WR grouping where he could move up the depth chart fairly quickly since there is so much uncertainty past Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson. Plus, while he learns, he should be able to contribute to special teams in the meantime. He returned 53 kickoffs in college for an average of 28.7 yards, finding the end zone twice.
No. 168 brings an interesting tight end to the Vikings
Central Missouri tight end Zach Davidson had his name called with the team’s second pick in Round 5 and he should be very interesting, to say the least. He has a similar frame to Kyle Rudolph, standing nearly 6’7 and scored 15 touchdowns in college. Considering limited experience on offense, the sky is the limit for his potential.
However, Davidson was a punter and basketball player before he became a tight end, making his role for the purple and gold one to watch going forward since he can do so much for the team. It will be interesting to see what Minnesota does with the Central Missouri player.
With those two selections, the Minnesota Vikings seem to have faired well in Round 5 of the 2021 NFL Draft by grabbing highly talented players with some great upside. The team only has one pick remaining in the draft: No. 199 in Round 6.