00:00The Minnesota Vikings are just moments away from being able to make their pick.
00:04But what picks are they going to make?
00:06I have a full seven-round mock draft full of predictions based on intel, data, and the film.
00:11Let's talk about it.
00:15The Minnesota Vikings are looking to improve their roster heading into the 2025 season.
00:20J.J. McCarthy is full go for OTAs, and there's a lot of excitement surrounding this football team.
00:26But they need to nail the NFL draft.
00:27And one of the things that they need to nail is getting more picks.
00:30They only have four picks going into Thursday's NFL draft, but they can acquire more.
00:35One of the ways that they can do that by trading.
00:38And that's what they do with the first pick in this draft.
00:41I gave out my predictions.
00:42I wrote it for A to Zsports.com.
00:44You can go check that out, and you can watch the video.
00:46And there's going to be some more context you can add from the written side.
00:49So it's a little bit of fun.
00:51So this is full predictive.
00:53I use it with intel, film, data, and scheme fit.
00:56Those are all important factors.
00:59It's also how I built my horizontal boards.
01:01So the Vikings, I had trading down with the Baltimore Ravens.
01:04Just a couple spots.
01:05So 24 to 27.
01:06They get picked 27.
01:08129 in the fourth round.
01:09203 in the sixth.
01:10So that is technically a slight loss, according to the Jimmy Johnson trade chart.
01:15The equivalent of a late sixth round pick.
01:17And it's a win across the board.
01:19Late seventh gain in the Rich Hill trade chart.
01:21Both of those are conventional.
01:23And then the analytics charts.
01:24The steward is a value of the mid-fourth round pick.
01:27Over the cap and PFF, late third round pick.
01:29And then the Ben Baldwin chart, a mid-fourth.
01:31So the Vikings would be getting a little bit of value back on the majority of the trade charts.
01:36We got to remember, Cuesito Fulmenta has his own.
01:38And it's about player targeting.
01:40Just not just talking about what the pick is.
01:45Players matter in this context.
01:47And I don't think that gets mentioned enough.
01:49And Cuesito Fulmenta has something built for that.
01:51And he ends up picking Walter Nolan, the defensive tackle for Ole Miss.
01:54He was the number one overall recruit in the 2022 recruiting class.
01:58Went to Texas A&M.
01:59That defensive line was so loaded, he decided to go to Ole Miss.
02:02There were some rumors, some behind-the-scenes stuff.
02:04But nothing that I've been able to confirm.
02:07But he is the exact type of three-tech the Vikings want.
02:10He's a one-gap penetrator.
02:13And he can slant where you're moving at an angle on the line of scrimmage.
02:17He can stunt, which Brian Flores loves to do.
02:20And the athleticism he has at 6'3", 305 is incredible.
02:24He also packs a really powerful punch.
02:26Isn't consistent with it, but he can do it.
02:28Why is he falling this far?
02:30He struggles against double teams.
02:32And his motor in the run game is inconsistent.
02:35But considering who you have in front of him, if you could get him in this culture, help him grow and develop, and be able to handle some of those other responsibilities, you could have a really, really good football player long-term.
02:48And as Kwasi said in his pre-draft press conference, these are the types of guys that you cannot find in free agency or later in the draft.
02:55Take them when you can get them.
02:57And that's exactly what he does here.
02:59The next pick is from Kansas.
03:01He made the all-4-0 team.
03:02And that is cornerback Kobe Bryant.
03:05Yes, his real name is Jacoby Bryant.
03:08Obviously, you know why he's named after Black Mamba himself.
03:11Kobe Bryant is excellent.
03:15He made the all-4-0 team.
03:17He's about six feet tall, 175, 180 pounds.
03:22And he doesn't play like he's small.
03:24He plays feisty.
03:26He'll punch you in the mouth.
03:27He will stick in your hip pocket.
03:28So he'll run with you down the sidelines, and he will stick with you and attack the ball violently in the air.
03:35He's at his best when he's able to play a little bit of cover three or quarters, and he's able to really trigger downhill when he sees stuff happening in front of him.
03:42He has a lot of ball production in college with a bunch of interceptions, including a couple for touchdowns.
03:47Kobe Bryant is the exact type of player that the Minnesota Vikings have targeted at cornerback.
03:52Take a look at Byron Murphy Jr.
03:54Take a look at Makai Blackman.
03:56Take a look at Isaiah Rogers.
03:57He is a taller version of those players, and I think that will translate really well, and it'll also continue the trend of Kueso Fomentz at taking a guy around pick 100 at cornerback.
04:08This will be the third time in four drafts that he would have done so.
04:11Now, the next player is at 129.
04:13The pick we got from the Baltimore Ravens.
04:14Offensive lineman, Miles Frazier from LSU.
04:17He played next to Emery Jones, who's also expected to be taken sometime during the NFL draft.
04:21And on the other side is Will Campbell, who's likely going to go fourth overall to the New England Patriots.
04:25He provides a really stable player, but there are some things he needs to clean up.
04:31He needs to work on his balance a little bit, not get out in front of his feet, but he can handle power and he can move people.
04:38He had a great, great senior bowl, and being able to have him in this sense is going to be excellent long term.
04:46The next guy is Trevor Etienne at 139, the running back from Georgia.
04:50Transferred from Florida after two years there and thrived still with the Georgia Bulldogs.
04:55He did miss a game early in the year because he had an offseason DUI arrest.
04:58But if the Vikings don't have a problem as far as projecting forward, this is a great fit.
05:05He almost made the all 4-0 team.
05:07He ran a 4-4-3-40.
05:09He's only 5'8", but he's built.
05:11He's around 200 pounds.
05:12He is not small.
05:14And he can handle a workload.
05:16He's never handled a full workload, but if you put him as a 1A or 1B, I think he can thrive.
05:21He's got speed.
05:22He's got the ability to use vision with both zone and gap concepts.
05:25And he can outrun you with both burst and long speed.
05:29This is a guy that I would want on my football team.
05:31And he can grow and develop behind Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones and potentially become that 1A or 1B down the road.
