Report: Vikings Hosted Projected Top-5 Pick Travon Walker for Pre-Draft Visit
The Vikings haven't traded up within the first round of the NFL Draft since 1987, when they moved up two spots to take running back D.J. Dozier. They've traded up into the first round and traded players for first-round picks, but it's been 35 years since they shipped one of their first-rounders to move up.
If they want to have a chance at selecting a top prospect they recently hosted for a top-30 visit, they'll almost certainly have to break that streak.
While reporting on Washington visiting with Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker, The Athletic's Commanders beat writer Ben Standig revealed that the Vikings are one of the teams who has met with Walker. In addition to Washington at 11 and Minnesota at 12, Walker has also met with the teams holding each of the first six picks.
This year's first round is considered to be pretty difficult to predict, but Walker being on the board at 12 is virtually impossible. He's one of the leading contenders to be taken No. 1 overall by the Jaguars, trailing only Michigan edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson according to Vegas odds. Even if Walker makes it out of the top couple picks, it's tough to see him falling out of the top six.
Walker's production (6 sacks, 37 tackles last season) doesn't jump off the page, but he was arguably the best player on arguably the best college defense of all time. He can defend the run, get after the quarterback, and do basically anything you'd want him to do on a football field. Walker is an absurd athlete who ran a 4.51 40 and shined in the agility drills and jumps at 6'5", 272 pounds. He's got long arms and big hands. He has it all, really.
So what does it mean that the Vikings met with Walker? Probably not much. Teams like to use pre-draft visits to do their due diligence on all kinds of prospects and be prepared for any scenario. It would be very, very surprising if Walker ends up as a Viking.
Then again, maybe it does mean something. Could Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings be considering trading up? I still think it's far more likely that they trade back, as that seems to be the approach favored by analytics, but you never know. KFAN's Paul Allen, the radio voice of the Vikings, recently suggested that Minnesota moving up as high as No. 4 (Jets) is possible. Presumably, that would be for Cincinnati's Sauce Gardner, the top cornerback in this draft. But what if Walker falls out of the top three? Would the Vikings — who are in win-now mode — go up to get a player who would immediately complete their defensive line? Walker has a chance to be a perennial All-Pro with further development of his pass-rush technique, and he'd fit perfectly in Ed Donatell's hybrid 3-4 defense.
Crazier things have happened. Only eight days until draft night, folks.
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