Inside The Vikings

Two Vikings Go in Top 20 of Win-Now Active Player Mock Draft

Justin Jefferson and Kirk Cousins are both first-round picks in this hypothetical exercise.
Will Ragatz|
Two Vikings Go in Top 20 of Win-Now Active Player Mock Draft
Two Vikings Go in Top 20 of Win-Now Active Player Mock Draft

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Minnesota Vikings

What would happen if the entire NFL was re-drafted and every single team attempted to field a competitive roster? That's the wild hypothetical exercise NFL.com's Chad Reuter devised in a recent article.

In this situation, every single player in the league is available and joins their new team on a one-year deal. Reuter went with a seven-round snake draft that uses this year's draft order. This would obviously never happen, but it's still fun to think about!

Here's how things went down from a Vikings perspective.

Current Vikings players selected

  • Rd. 1, Pick 18: Justin Jefferson to Lions
  • Rd. 1, Pick 19: Kirk Cousins to Buccaneers
  • Rd. 3, Pick 86: Danielle Hunter to Chargers
  • Rd. 4, Pick 113: Christian Darrisaw to Commanders
  • Rd. 5, Pick 141: Brian O'Neill to Jets
  • Rd. 6, Pick 191: T.J. Hockenson to Texans

The Vikings had just six players selected out of 224 picks, but another four members of the 2022 team — Dalvin Cook, Za'Darius Smith, Patrick Peterson, and Dalvin Tomlinson — were also taken. Jefferson was the second wide receiver selected, behind Tyreek Hill. My main thought regarding this list of picks is that Darrisaw went way too late.

Vikings picks

  • Rd. 1, Pick 24: Chiefs TE Travis Kelce
  • Rd. 2, Pick 41: Eagles OT Lane Johnson
  • Rd. 3, Pick 88: Packers EDGE Rashan Gary
  • Rd. 4, Pick 105: 49ers CB Charvarius Ward
  • Rd. 5, Pick 152: Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks
  • Rd. 6, Pick 169: 49ers QB Brock Purdy
  • Rd. 7, Pick 216: Giants DL Leonard Williams

This is a solid nucleus. The Vikings waited on a quarterback, but it's easy to imagine Purdy thriving in Kevin O'Connell's offense with Kelce and Cooks as his top pass-catchers and Johnson leading the offensive line. Defensively, Gary and Williams would be a stout duo up front and Ward is decent value in the fourth round as a CB1.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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