Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw Go Much Higher in SI's Re-Drafts

Re-drafts are a fun way to see which teams did well with their first-round pick in a given year and which teams would love a do-over. Sports Illustrated recently conducted re-drafts for each of the last three years, and two of the Vikings' best players unsurprisingly went much earlier than where Minnesota was able to snag them.

2020

Full re-draft from Gilberto Manzano

Pick No. 22

Vikings' original pick: Justin Jefferson
Jefferson's new slot: Giants, No. 4
Vikings' new pick: OT Jedrick Wills Jr.

Former Vikings GM Rick Spielman hit an all-time home run in 2020, landing Jefferson with the 22nd overall pick. After some labeled him as a "slot only" receiver coming out of LSU, all Jefferson has done is put together the best-three year start to a WR's career in NFL history, culminating in the OPOY award last season. The only reason Jefferson falls to 4 in this re-draft is that three of the league's best quarterbacks — Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, and Jalen Hurts — were taken in this draft.

In this hypothetical world, the Vikings end up with Wills, originally the 10th pick, at 22. He's been solid but unspectacular in his three seasons with the Browns. Spielman recently said he would've taken WR Brandon Aiyuk at 22 if the Eagles had gone with Jefferson instead of Jalen Reagor one pick earlier.

Pick No. 31

Vikings' original pick: Jeff Gladney
Vikings' new pick: C Tyler Biadasz

Biadasz has been a quality starter the past two years in Dallas, earning a Pro Bowl selection last season.

2021

Full re-draft from Matt Verderame

Pick No. 23

Vikings' original pick: Christian Darrisaw
Darrisaw's new slot: Patriots, No. 15
Vikings' new pick: CB Eric Stokes

One year after landing Jefferson, Spielman pulled off another heist by trading back from 14 to 23 and still landing Darrisaw (although he followed that up with a brutal third round). The Virginia Tech product broke out last season as one of the best tackles in football; only concussions could slow down his dominance. Darrisaw, 24, could be the Vikings' LT for the next decade. I think you can make the case that he should've gone even higher than 15 in this re-draft.

At 23, the Vikings address their CB room by taking Stokes, who actually went 29th to the Packers. He's been pretty impressive when healthy.

2022

Full re-draft from Gilberto Manzano

Pick No. 32

Vikings' original pick: Lewis Cine
Vikings' new pick: WR Treylon Burks

This one hasn't aged nearly as well for the Vikings and new GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, although it's only been a year. They traded down from 12 to 32 and drafted Cine, who unfortunately had his rookie season cut short by a major leg injury in Week 4. Cine is healthy now, but he still appears to be fourth on the Vikings' depth chart at safety behind Harrison Smith, Cam Bynum, and Josh Metellus. We'll see if that changes during training camp.

If Cine doesn't turn into a quality player, this draft is going to be tough to stomach due to all the studs the Vikings could've selected at either 12 or 32. Here, they take a chance on Burks, who had just 33 catches in 11 games last season on a run-heavy Titans offense.

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