Recent visits point at Minnesota Vikings first round target

AtoZ Sports

Tyler Forness discusses why the Minnesota Vikings hosting several Georgia Bulldogs could hint at a player that hasn't made it to Minneapolis yet.

Transcript

00:00The Minnesota Vikings are bringing multiple top 30 visits from Georgia,

00:03but it's a player on the team not coming in that could be the target.

00:07Let's talk about why.

00:11The Minnesota Vikings are a very interesting team when it comes to the NFL draft

00:14and their strategy behind it.

00:16General Manager Kwasi Doflamenta is very interesting on how he approaches the draft

00:21because he comes from Wall Street, and that's both a good and a bad thing,

00:24and we've seen both manifest themselves over the course of his first three years in office.

00:28Now, entering his fourth draft, we're starting to develop some patterns and trends,

00:33and one of those is how they use top 30 visits.

00:35They use it in a multitude of ways.

00:37The Vikings have made 22 draft picks so far.

00:40Five of them have been picked.

00:43Five top 30 visits, so that's nearly 25%.

00:46Asesio DeMeuwo in 2022, Jordan Addison, Mekhi Blackman, and Dwayne McBride in 2023,

00:51and Dallas Turner in 2024.

00:53But this is where things get really interesting.

00:55They have drafted multiple players that were on teams of other players that visited.

01:02Illinois safety Kirby Joseph visited, and they took Viderian Lowe, the offensive tackle,

01:06in the sixth round at 22.

01:07In 23, they took safety Jay Ward and defensive tackle Jaqueline Roy,

01:11when offensive lineman Anthony Bradford and cornerback Jarek Bernard Converse visited,

01:17and Alabama kicker Will Reichard visited, when they had Dallas Turner and Terry and Arnold,

01:21and as well as Oregon cornerback Kyrie Jackson, when they brought in Taki Taimani.

01:26And he is one of eight undrafted free agents that also visited.

01:30So the Vikings have a wide net, and this is where things get really interesting when it

01:34comes to Georgia.

01:35They have four players visiting on top 30 visits this week.

01:38Tight end Benjamin Eurosek, defensive lineman Warren Brinson, defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse,

01:42and defensive lineman Tyrian Ingram Dawkins.

01:45Now, it could mean the Vikings have interest in all four players, but there's probably a little

01:50bit of other interest, and your arrow might point immediately to Malachi Starks.

01:55Completely understand that.

01:57I think there's a different player in mind.

01:59What's the one thing that links tight end defensive line together?

02:03They all play in the trenches.

02:06I think the target is Mikel Williams.

02:08Also could be Jalen Walker.

02:10But hear me out on Mikel Williams for a second.

02:12One of the things that the Minnesota Vikings lacked last year was an interior pass rush

02:16and juice.

02:18They didn't have a lot of juice from that interior, and they used a lot of the NASCAR package.

02:23Jihad Ward did really well.

02:24Pat Jones did really well.

02:25He got a $2 million, $20 million deal from the Panthers.

02:28Good for him.

02:30But they didn't have a lot of juice from that interior.

02:34So what does Mikel Williams bring?

02:35He brings a guy that plays similar to Javion Clowney.

02:39He is not Javion Clowney.

02:40But they play somewhat similar styles.

02:43They love to attack you.

02:44They love to leverage you with the speed to power game.

02:46They have enough power to be able to handle double teams somewhat.

02:50Clowney was closer to like 280, 285 pounds.

02:54Mikel Williams is 265.

02:56But it's very interesting that they might prioritize this kind of player, because he's also shown

03:01that he can do a little bit of two gapping.

03:03You don't want him to do it all the time, but he can flash it.

03:06He can do gap and a half stuff.

03:07And that's a really impressive thing.

03:08And he's got long enough arms to keep offensive linemen at bay, shed, and be able to get the

03:13tackle on the running back.

03:14He flashed that a lot, especially against Texas.

03:17So why would the Vikings want that?

03:19Well, they want interior players.

03:21They want guys that they can use with versatility.

03:23Mikel Williams is that kind of player.

03:25It's not going to be as versatile as Jalen Walker, who's basically like an Andrew Van

03:28Ginkle, Kyle Van Nooy hybrid, where he is an edge rusher, but he's also an off-ball

03:32linebacker.

03:32And there's real debate on where his spot is.

03:34But don't get it twisted.

03:38They could have interest in any of those four players in Georgia.

03:42But the common thread there is Mikel Williams.

03:45And I find that very, very interesting as we approach the NFL draft and conclude these

03:50top 30 visits.

03:51It's something to be mindful of.

03:54I'm Tyler Fornes with ADZ Sports.

03:56Skull Vikings.

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