The Minnesota Vikings have three picks in the first four rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft. How might they use them based on what they did last year?
We are a week into April, and Minnesota Vikings fans across the nation are trying to figure out what the Vikings may do with their picks in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Lately, the steam for pick No. 23 has been with the team taking a quarterback to replace Kirk Cousins. Prior to that, wide receiver was getting a lot of buzz, and before that, cornerback was an extremely popular pick.
Ultimately, we have no idea what Minnesota will do. What makes it even harder to predict is that this is Kwesi Adofo-Mensah‘s second year in charge as the team’s general manager, so we only have one year to go off of. That being said, maybe the best way to predict what the team will do is to use that one sample from the past.
If Adofo-Mensah works the draft in a similar fashion as he did in 2022, then we can perhaps gain a true understanding of the route he may take this year. So with that in mind, let’s predict what the Vikings will do with their first three choices based on last year’s approach.
First Round
Trade down to Pick No. 31 and address a need with a name not tied to many mock drafts
Last year the Vikings moved all the way from pick No. 12 down to pick No. 32. They moved back twenty spaces, swapped second-rounders, and acquired an early third-round pick. One can argue about the value of that move, but that’s what they did.
With the 32nd pick, the Vikings chose Georgia safety Lewis Cine. That was a mild surprise as cornerback was seen as a bigger need, and there wasn’t a whole lot of buzz that the team was in on him.
If the Vikings take a similar approach and address a need that isn’t getting a lot of attention right now, then they could end up with Michigan defensive tackle Mazi Smith.
Defensive line is a big need for the Vikings, but one that is flying under the radar a bit. Recent mock drafts have the Vikings going with a quarterback or wide receiver. If it isn’t those two positions, then it seems like cornerback is the next most popular option.
Drafting Smith would be a very similar move to taking Cine. It’s a need, but not considered the top one, and Smith is likely seen as the fourth or fifth best prospect at his position, just like Cine was.
Smith is an impressive prospect who can stuff the run and provide pressure on quarterbacks. Kwesi could fall in love with him just like he did with Cine.
He will also realize that he can get him later in the draft and could give the Kansas City Chiefs a call knowing they will want to move up to get one of the top receivers in this class. Perhaps they get an additional third and fifth-round pick in the trade down, and then land their man in Mazi Smith at pick No. 31.
Second Round
Trade up for a falling cornerback
A season ago, the Vikings acquired extra picks in their trade-down with the Lions. They used some of those picks to trade back up for a cornerback who was falling down the board in Andrew Booth Jr., and if they follow that strategy again in 2023, the target could be Kelee Ringo.
Ringo is an intriguing prospect with good size and athletic ability. He fits the Brian Flores mold, as he can play outside and be matched up alone on an island against a receiver. He could go as high as the late teens or fall into the second round. The reason he could fall is that he has trouble tracking the ball, and some teams believe his future could be at safety.
In this scenario, the Vikings have two third-round picks after trading back with the Chiefs. Ringo starts to slide into the mid-second round, and they package both of those choices to go up and get him. They did this last year when they got Booth, and mimicking that approach in 2023 could land them a solid prospect in Kelee Ringo.
Fourth Round
Address a need with a player not many are familiar with
In the 2022 NFL Draft, the Vikings made a bit of a shocking pick in the fourth round when they drafted Missouri Cornerback Akayleb Evans. Evans was projected to go a few rounds later, but Kwesi said he was watching film alone in a dark room and fell in love with this guy.
He had to have him so badly that he moved up to get his guy. If the Vikings go that route again and take a seldom-known player at a position of need, they could end up with Princeton wide receiver Andrei Iosivas.
Iosivas is one of the bigger sleepers in the 2023 NFL Draft. He’s got great size at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. His speed is excellent for a large man, as he ran a 4.43 forty-yard dash at the Combine. He tested very well in the rest of the drills proving that the athleticism seen on film is no lie.
The level of competition he faced in college will be a concern, and there’s some thought that he isn’t a natural hands catcher. He did dominate his level of competition, hauling in 66 passes for 943 yards, and seven touchdowns his senior season.
Akayleb Evans probably should’ve been a sixth-round pick last year, and the same could be said for Iosivas. If the Vikings continue the pattern to reach a bit in the fourth round, then the Princeton pass catcher could be in line to be Adam Thielen‘s heir apparent.