With their regular season complete, the Minnesota Vikings will start thinking about the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft and how they can improve on a strong season.
As the regular season comes to an end, the Minnesota Vikings have a lot to be excited about but a lot of concerns regarding the future. For now, the focus is on sustaining success in the playoffs and making a run against the best the league has to offer.
The Vikings finished the 2022 NFL season with a record of 13-4 and an NFC North title. With the playoffs still ahead of them, a magical debut season from Kevin O’Connell is still growing. His fellow rookie, General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, will be working toward the future a bit as the season unfolds the rest of the way.
His job as the GM is to build a roster that can compete not only now but in the future. The next few weeks will allow the front office to catch up on the draft cycle and get to know the top prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Senior Bowl and other All-Star opportunities will take place in the next month or so, while the Scouting Combine follows in early March. That said, NFL Draft season is in full swing, and the Vikings, despite a playoff matchup in front of them, should have an eye on the upcoming draft class.
Before the team kicks off its postseason against the Giants, let’s take a quick look at what the 2023 draft could look like in just over three months.
First-Round Pick
Jaxon Smith-Njigba – WR (Ohio State)
The end of the first round provides a tough spot for the Vikings. Many of the top cornerbacks will probably be off the board, and although they have a need at safety, I doubt Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will spend yet another first-round pick on a safety.
The pass rush class is very strong, but without a top guy at this projected pick, the next-best option is Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In terms of general draft boards, Smith-Njigba would be one of the best players available, and he fills a need for this team.
K.J. Osborn has had his moments over the past two years, but I think he is best suited as a third receiver that can eat when defenses focus on others. Adam Thielen clearly is not the same player and cutting his salary is the only logical move from a business standpoint.
Enter Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a dynamic creator after the catch that was a top-10 player before this season started. A hamstring injury lingered throughout the season and kept him off the field for an Ohio State offense that sputtered at times – although their version of sputtering is quite different than most college offenses.
Smith-Njigba has the potential to be a 1,000-yard receiver from the jump, especially if he lines up across from Justin Jefferson as a rookie. The injury sticking around is a big reason for his fall in mock drafts, and while there is some merit there, JSN is worth that sort of risk at the end of the first round.
He is phenomenal after the catch, with more speed than his testing is going to show at the combine. Kirk Cousins entering the season with Justin Jefferson, K.J. Osborn, Jalen Nailor, T.J. Hockenson, and potentially Irv Smith and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, would make for some remarkable offensive football.
Third-Round Pick
Ji’Ayir Brown – S (Penn State)
The Vikings’ defense is in need of a major rebuild. Veterans like Harrison Smith and Eric Kendricks are starting to show some signs of their age, and they need to be replaced at some point in the near future.
While a cornerback is probably a better play in this situation, Ji’Ayir Brown is going to be a hard player to pass up. His ability to play on the back end of the defense would do wonders for the secondary.
There is something special about creating turnovers, regardless of how they happen. For Brown, he always seems to be in the right spot to recover loose balls and intercept deflected passes for a stout Penn State defense. In
In 26 over the past two seasons, Brown intercepted 10 passes to go along with three forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, eight pass deflections, and two defensive touchdowns. That sort of game-changing ability is hard to teach.
The vision for this defense most likely features Lewis Cine as an in-the-box safety that has the speed and range to cover the boundaries when he is asked to do so. Ji’Ayir Brown would serve as the deep safety that cleans up the middle of the field as the eventual replacement for Harrison Smith.
This defense needs to get better at all three levels. Spending a third-round pick on a potential game-wrecker is not the worst plan of action.
Fourth-Round Pick
Ivan Pace – LB (Cincinnati)
Brian Asamoah has been pretty solid in his rookie season as a situational linebacker. He has probably earned a job heading into camp this summer with Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks fighting for one last chance to make an impact on this team. Even if one or both of the veterans stick around, the Vikings will need to add depth to the middle of the field.
Cincinnati’s Ivan Pace is going to be one of the most interesting prospects in 2023. After spending three seasons at Miami (OH), Pace transferred to Cincinnati and had his best season of college ball.
Pace is a smaller linebacker which forces him to play sort of a hybrid role as a blitzing off-ball backer that can defend the run and pass but thrives as a gap-splitter. In 2022, Pace recorded 136 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks, and two forced fumbles.
Listed at 6-foot-0 and 235 pounds, Pace looks much smaller than most teams would like from a pass rusher. Still, he has done more than enough to warrant a late draft selection and a chance to make the lineup in some capacity as a rookie.
Minnesota is in a transitional phase on defense without a true chess piece in the middle of the defense right now. Adding Ivan Pace and his ability to fill gaps against the run or pass would give them a strong mismatch on early downs.
Fifth-Round Pick
Jaxson Kirkland – OL (Washington)
This is the last draft pick that the Vikings definitely own in the 2023 draft, but they are projected to have two compensatory selections in the sixth round as well.
Ed Ingram has settled in a little bit after a rough start at right guard this season, but that does not mean he is unworthy of competition. The offensive line will forever be an important asset for every team in the NFL, so throwing darts and hoping one sticks at this stage of the draft will get zero criticism on my end.
Jaxson Kirkland was once one of the top prospects in college football, but injuries continued to set him back. Now, with his NFL future much bleaker than it once appeared, Kirkland might make the move to guard to find a more comfortable home at the next level.
His positional versatility is something that could be valuable for the Vikings, who have so many question marks heading into next season. If Ed Ingram cannot prove himself in the summer, Kirkland could become a threat to start at right guard.
If Brian O’Neill is held out due to his partially torn Achilles, there is a chance the Vikings would look at a player like Kirland to fill in at right tackle until O’Neill returns.
Sixth-Round Pick No. 1
Eric Gray – RB (Oklahoma)
The writing is on the wall for Dalvin Cook to be a cap casualty this offseason, leaving the Vikings with some question marks at running back. Alexander Mattison has been a fine backup and does well as a starter, but I am hesitant to believe he is the starter of the future. Mattison is also a free agent himself this offseason and is no guarantee to be a Viking in 2023.
Minnesota already has two players on the depth chart that can mimic the speed of Cook in space with Kene Nwangwu and Ty Chandler. They need a powerful runner that can take care of the Mattison role if and when he departs. Oklahoma’s Eric Gray is the perfect prospect at this stage of the draft.
He is a strong runner that can make defenders miss in space but is not afraid to absorb contact and push the pile for extra yards. Gray also lined up in the slot at times and contributed to the passing game from outside of the backfield.
Sixth-Round Pick No. 2
Ali Gaye – EDGE (LSU)
Minnesota has a history of adding pass rushers late in the draft and hoping they can develop, and that was the case once again with the new regime in 2022. Late in the draft, they selected Minnesota’s own Esezi Otomewo to sit behind Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith.
Ali Gaye entered the season as a potential top-50 selection but has fallen hard after a rough season at LSU. The 24-year-old pass rusher recorded just 6.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss in 13 games last season.
The highlight of Gaye’s season was an egregious targeting penalty in his season opener that warranted far more than an ejection. He has the physical tools and traits that make a Day 3 pick worth the chance, but Gaye has not become the player many expected him to be. For the sixth round, this is about what you are looking for in a draft and stash scenario.