The 2021 NFL Draft may be over, but that’s no reason not to look to the future and predict what the Minnesota Vikings may do in the draft next year.
It’s early May and that means that the NFL Draft has come and gone. All the months of excitement and anticipation are over and now Minnesota Vikings fans have to wallow in their despair while they count down the days until OTAs and mini-camps begin.
While this can be a sad and depressing time, it can also be a time to look ahead to the future. The Vikings hit many of their needs in the draft this year, but they will have plenty more to fill when the draft comes around next April.
Some of these needs we can see coming with the way the roster currently sits, with starters at some positions getting older, and others being filled with players who are either signed to short-term deals or are reaching the end of their contracts.
While this exercise will ultimately be proven moot, with the way the college season shakes out as well as Minnesota’s season, it is still fun to take a look at how the 2022 NFL Draft could play out for our beloved purple and gold.
So let’s check out a way too early 2022 mock draft for the Vikings which will keep them at pick No. 14, though they’ll likely, and hopefully, be picking much later than that when the real thing begins.
First Round
Bubba Bolden – S (Miami)
Safety is a position that could soar to the top of the Vikings’ needs list by the time the 2022 NFL Draft commences.
Harrison Smith is approaching the end of his elite career and free agent Xavier Woods was only signed to a one-year deal. If he isn’t re-signed, and if Smith decides to retire, or he isn’t offered a new contract by the team, Minnesota will be very thin at the safety position.
They’d only have Josh Metellus on the roster with Camryn Bynum as the other option. This is assuming Myles Dorn doesn’t shock and earn a roster spot this season, and the same goes for Luther Kirk. Safety is easily one of the Vikings’ bigger needs and one they could choose to upgrade with their first draft pick in 2022.
One player who would be very intriguing is Miami’s, Bubba Bolden. This guy is a big, physical presence in the secondary standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 200 pounds. He’s definitely an enforcer who can deliver a big hit. But he also has great closing speed and he can come up and play on the line, being a dangerous blitzer.
Minnesota would like to see a little more ball skills out Bolden, but he does have two career interceptions and four pass breakups. He’ll need to improve in this area to secure a first-round grade, but he’s got rare physical traits, and he can bring some physicality to the back end of the Vikings’ defense.
Second Round
David Bell – WR (Purdue)
Wide receiver is a need the Vikings addressed in the 2021 NFL Draft when they used a fifth-round pick on former Iowa receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette. He’ll compete and possibly be Minnesota’s third receiver next season and work out of the slot.
While his selection definitely improves the depth of the Vikings’ receiving corps, they need to find a replacement for Adam Thielen.
Thielen will be 31 when the 2021 season starts and he has some huge cap hits coming up. He’s due to make $12 million in 2022, $13 million in 2023, and $14 million in 2024. That is a lot to pay a receiver who will be well into his 30s.
Minnesota has a track record of restructuring these types of contracts and they have even shown the audacity to cut a player who is too old to be making those types of dollars.
So while the Vikings may have some future pieces in place for their receiver corps, they’ll need to find one more. That could happen in the 2022 NFL Draft in the form of Purdue wide receiver David Bell.
Bell has great size at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds. He’s been very productive in his time at Purdue catching 139 career passes for 1,660 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s not a burner but is fast enough. Where he wins is at going up and catching contested balls. Bell understands how to position his body and is great at hand battling defenders. He has all the makings of a very good number two option in the passing game and would be a huge score for the Vikings in the second round.
Third Round
Joey Porter Jr. – CB (Penn State)
One of the bigger needs for the Vikings next season could be at cornerback. The team currently is set at the position, but some things could unfold that would make this their No. 1 need.
First of all, Patrick Peterson and Mackensie Alexander are only signed to one-year deals. If they look for employment elsewhere next season, that will be a significant blow to Minnesota’s depth chart.
Jeff Gladney’s future is in doubt and he may never step foot on a football field again after his ugly incident this past winter. Mike Hughes is likely done with the team after the 2021 season, assuming he even makes the squad this year.
That would put Cameron Dantzler as the team’s top cornerback with Harrison Hand and Kris Boyd the top options behind him. The Vikings would have to look for a cornerback early and it could be with their first-round selection. If they decide to go a different route early as they did in this mock draft, then a guy they could look for down the board would be Joey Porter Jr. from Penn State.
The one thing that really sticks out about Porter’s game is his size and length. He’s 6-foot-2 and 193 pounds, but he has arms that damn near dangle by his ankles. He’s sticky in coverage and isn’t afraid to lay a hit.
He’ll need to show some improvement in his ball skills this season to secure his spot in the 2022 draft’s first two days, but being the son of former NFL linebacker Joey Porter will speak volumes for his football IQ and overall preparation. He’d be a solid choice in the third round by Minnesota and he would compete for a starting job right out of the gate.
Fourth Round
Thayer Munford – OT (Ohio State)
The Vikings did an excellent job of upgrading their offensive line in the 2021 NFL Draft. They got their left tackle of the future in Christian Darrisaw and also a guard in Wyatt Davis who is expected by some to start this year.
In the future, Minnesota could look to add depth at the tackle position and they could target a player like Thayer Munford with an early Day 3 selection.
The Vikings have brought back Rashod Hill the last couple of seasons, but they could look to get a young replacement on the roster for him. Munford could be that guy.
He possesses great size at 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds, with long arms, and high-end overall athletic ability. Munford also has plenty of experience having started 26 career games for the Buckeyes.
The biggest knock on Munford is his technique. He just isn’t fundamentally sound and he has to rely on his wingspan and agility to overcome his poor fundamentals.
The guy’s biggest struggle could be with himself as he constantly has to overcome the faults in his play as he battles his opponent. If Munford improves in this area he’ll come off the board much sooner than the fourth round. But if he falters again he could fall farther than this.
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Munford is a guy who will need some coaching up at the next level. He shouldn’t see the field in year one, but he has the intangibles that make him an intriguing prospect if he is able to be coached up to his potential.