7-round Vikings mock draft for every 2022 NFL Draft scenario

Mock Draft No. 3

Scenario: Stay put

Lastly, we have the most likely of the three scenarios. It would be unwise for the Minnesota Vikings to trade up, and trading back requires another team to be desperate enough to fork over some valuable other picks.

That leads us to the Vikings picking right at pick No. 12, where they still can go best player available and hit a need in the same pick. After signing Za’Darius Smith, cornerback became Minnesota’s biggest need even after bringing back Patrick Peterson.

Sauce Gardner and Derek Stingley Jr. are the near-consensus top-two cornerbacks, with the former being the betting favorite to go first. One of the two could fall to pick No. 12, but in case they do not, the Vikings will have to determine where they are comfortable taking the next wave of corners. Speaking of that…

R1: Pick No. 12

• Trent McDuffie – CB (Washington)

When the top-two CBs are gone, McDuffie certainly might be the next one to hear his name called. He has been a lockdown defender during his time at Washington.

While he played almost exclusively at outside CB in college, some people project him as a slot CB in the NFL due to his size and arm length. It is up to Minnesota to decide if pick No. 12 is too early for a slot CB or if they want to keep him outside.

R2: Pick No. 46

• Kingsley Enagbare – EDGE (South Carolina)

Enagbare comes to Minnesota and is once again teammates with D.J. Wonnum. He fits perfectly as a rotational piece with Smith and Hunter along the edges of the Vikings’ defense.

If Smith or Hunter do not end up in Minnesota long-term, Enagbare can spend a year refining his game behind them and then jump onto the scene in 2023. He had the fourth-most QB hits in the country in 2021 per PFF, so he already has some pass-rushing chops to him.

R3: Pick No. 77

• Kerby Joseph – S (Illinois)

If the Vikings are going safety in round three, chances are Joseph is slotting in as the third safety behind Harrison Smith and Cam Bynum.

Joseph did not start at Illinois until 2021, but ran with the opportunity and played extremely well. He brings a lot of special teams experience to the fold, too.

R5: Pick No. 156

• Grant Calcaterra – TE (SMU)

With Tyler Conklin earning a nice payday with the Jets and Irv Smith Jr missing the 2021 season with a knee injury, a tight end selection would not be surprising here. Even with the signing of former Rams’ tight end Johnny Mundt, Calcaterra could find himself as a Viking on Day 3.

R6: Pick No. 184

• Cordell Volson – OT (NDSU)

Volson is the next in line of NDSU studs to get drafted, following Trey Lance and fellow OL Dillon Radunz from last year. NDSU likes to maul people in the run game, so adding one of their former offensive linemen could provide some nice depth.

R6: Pick No. 191

• Kevin Austin Jr. – WR (Notre Dame)

This is the first draft where I did not take a WR early, but you can bet there will be one at some point in the draft. Austin Jr. gets the nod here after a solid combine that saw him run a 4.43 40-yard dash.

R6: Pick No. 192

• Luke Wattenberg – C (Washington)

With the signings of Jesse Davis and Chris Reed recently, the interior offensive line is slightly less of a need for Minnesota, but a backup for Bradbury still needs to come from somewhere with Mason Cole gone.

R7: Pick No. 250

• Kaleb Eleby – QB (Western Michigan)

A late-round dart throw at QB here. Eleby was the lucky QB getting to throw Skyy Moore the ball in college. Or was Moore the lucky one for having Eleby? Eleby does have a chance to make an NFL roster with some solid tape from college. We will try not to hold it against him that his parents named him Kaleb with a K.