Redrafting the Minnesota Vikings 2021 rookie class

Third-Round Pick No. 3

Original Pick: Wyatt Davis – G (Ohio State)

Redraft Pick: Kendrick Green – C (Illinois)

Many Vikings fans, myself included, were absolutely stoked when the Vikings landed Wyatt Davis in the third round. He, along with Christian Darrisaw, were the two players assumed to have big roles in their rookie years. Darrisaw was obviously taken to be the left tackle, and it was figured that Davis would’ve been the starter at right guard.

It’s still unclear what went wrong with Davis during year one. Maybe he was hurt, maybe he fell out of favor with the coaching staff, or maybe he just isn’t very good. Whatever it was, he only appeared in six games and most of that was with the field goal unit.

The Vikings should’ve gone with Kendrick Green out of Illinois instead. He played guard in college but the Pittsburgh Steelers moved him to center, where he ended up starting 15 games.

Maybe Mike Zimmer would’ve held a grudge against him too, but the fact he was able to be productive right out of the gate points to him being a much better option in the pros than Wyatt Davis. Obviously, time will tell on this one, but right now Green has a huge lead and looks like a better choice.

Third-Round Pick No. 4

Original Pick: Patrick Jones III – DE (Pittsburgh)

Redraft Pick: Elijah Molden – CB (Washington)

The Vikings decided to bolster their pass rush with their last third-round pick. At Pittsburgh, Patrick Jones III was seen as an up and down type of player who would look great for a few weeks in a row and then disappear for the next three. He ended up playing in nine games for Minnesota and showed to be decent against the run with seven tackles.

While Jones could still prove to be a solid asset to the Vikings’ defense, if they could do it again they would probably look to bolster their secondary with Elijah Molden out of Washington.

The Titans grabbed this guy and got a nice return out of him in year one. He had 62 tackles, a fumble recovery, four pass breakups, and an interception that he returned for a touchdown.

He started seven games for the Titans and would’ve probably doubled that, had he been taken by the Vikings. If Minnesota would’ve pulled the trigger on Molden a season ago, that would’ve taken a major need off the table this year, and the Vikings could feel better about using the 12th overall pick on an edge rusher, or even a quarterback.