The NFL season has been over for a few weeks, which means now it's time for the NFL season some fans really care about the most.
NFL mock draft intrigue: Vikings at No. 12, QBs and a first-rounder from the Gophers?
While the draft is still almost two months away, Mel Kiper Jr's revised mock draft offers some interesting insights.
March 3, 2022 at 1:38AM
![Minnesota Vikings new general manger Kwesi Adofo-Mensah during a press conference Thursday, Jan. 27, at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, Minn. ] CARLOS GONZALEZ • cgonzalez@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/OUO42DX76JAD4HHZPYU5KV3XJI.jpg?&w=712)
The Scouting Combine is happening right now. The new league year and free agency are only two weeks away. And the draft is technically next month, though it is really about two months away at the end of April.
With that in mind, three things caught my eye in Mel Kiper Jr.'s most recent mock draft this week over at ESPN. I talked about some of it on Wednesday's Daily Delivery podcast, but let's explore more now.
- Gophers standout Boye Mafe is moving up the board — and has climbed far enough thanks to a standout Senior Bowl performance that he is now projected by Kiper to go No. 30 overall at the end of the first round to Kansas City.
Kiper writes of Mafe: "He was phenomenal at the Senior Bowl, showing some power and finesse as an edge rusher. At 6-foot-3, 255 pounds, he can use his get-off speed to fly by tackles. Mafe has versatility as well, and he moved up to No. 3 in my outside linebacker rankings."
What's interesting is Mafe was a defensive end for the Gophers. Could he be an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme in the NFL? We will see how that all shakes out.
(Shameless plug: Mafe was on Daily Delivery a few months ago and was a terrific guest).
- Kiper has the Vikings taking a corner — yes, "just one more" even though Mike Zimmer is gone — with the No. 12 overall pick in LSU's Derek Stingley Jr.
Considering the Vikings cut Bashaud Breeland late last year and that both Patrick Peterson and Mackensie Alexander are free agents, corner is certainly a position of need. But there are a lot of positions of need, particularly on defense, so don't be surprised if this changes in subsequent mock drafts.
- Kiper has three quarterbacks being chosen in the first round: Kenny Pickett of Pitt at No. 11 to Washington, Malik Willis of Liberty at No. 20 to Pittsburgh and Matt Corral of Ole Miss at No. 32 to Detroit.
That's a far cry from recent years where quarterbacks have headlined the top of the draft, and it is no secret this isn't considered a strong QB draft. But the Vikings hold the No. 12 pick. If they like one of the top quarterbacks — Willis and Pickett would be likely targets — they should be able to get him. In some ways, a "weak" QB draft probably benefits a team like the Vikings because of where they are picking.
When he was hired after the disastrous 2016 season to reshape the Twins, Derek Falvey brought a reputation for identifying and developing pitching talent. It took a while, but the pipeline we were promised is now materializing.
