Looking ahead to the NFL draft? Vikings' biggest need is obvious

Folks itching for their next NFL mock draft are starting to stack their Vikings wish boards in hopes that St. Rickolas Spielman comes through at their preferred position in Round 1 come April.

One school of thought says the Vikings general manager should restock the defensive line. And it's not without some merit considering Yannick Ngakoue is the team's leader in sacks 10 weeks after he was traded.

But the thinking here says Spielman shouldn't take his eyes off the most important ball: the offensive line. A great guard would be a nice change.

Defensively, Danielle Hunter will return and, knowing Danielle, he'll be an even grander edge rushing force than before. Michael Pierce will finally show up as the nose tackle anchor he was supposed to be before he took the COVID-19 opt-out. And rookie D.J. Wonnum could be a rising star.

Wonnum was a fourth-round pick. Hunter was a third-rounder. They're prime examples why trust in Spielman is higher when he's picking his defensive linemen after his offensive linemen.

In the past three years, Spielman has taken right tackle Brian O'Neill in the second round, center Garrett Bradbury in the first round and Ezra Cleveland in the second round. All three have proved they can play.

O'Neill and Bradbury have started 29 games together. Cleveland was talented enough as a rookie to move from college left tackle to NFL right guard and make the line much better.

The assumption is Cleveland will shift to left tackle this offseason as the team moves on from the older, more expensive Riley Reiff. That would create an opening at right guard to go along with the need for an upgrade over stopgap left guard Dakota Dozier.

Look around the league at the 10-win teams. Yes, they all have "SportsCenter" highlight-reel players at the skill positions. But they're also committed to strong, deep offensive lines.

Some examples:

In Kansas City, the Chiefs are a league-best 13-1. In New Orleans on Sunday, Patrick Mahomes was pressured on a season-high 39.5% of his passes, according to Pro Football Focus. His 5.4-yard average on 47 attempts was a career-low.

But …

Despite being down to their third-string right tackle, Kansas City controlled the game – and time of possession (41:14) – while running the ball 27 times for 115 yards and a touchdown in the second half. The Chiefs won by 3.

In Cleveland, the Vikings' old friend Kevin Stefanski has won 10 games in no small part because the Browns used the offseason to add starting tackles Jack Conklin via free agency and Jedrick Wills Jr. via the 10^th overall pick.

The Browns opened Sunday night's game against the Giants with their second-team right guard. He got hurt after two snaps. Rookie fifth-round draft pick Nick Harris stepped in and played the first 62 snaps of his NFL career. He gave up one pressure and the Browns won 20-3.

In Indianapolis, the best line in football is making 39-year-old Philip Rivers feel young again.

His last two years with the Chargers, Rivers was sacked 66 times. His 14 sacks this year have him on pace for 16, which would be the fewest since 2005, when he was sacked three times in two games as Drew Brees' second-year backup.

In Tennessee, Derrick Henry is rumbling toward his second straight rushing title. He is averaging 5.2 yards on 707 carries over his last 32 games, including playoffs.

Meanwhile, Ryan Tannehill's career rebirth continues. A year after leading the league in passer rating at 117.5, he's fourth at 110.4.

In Green Bay, the NFC's best offensive line continues to work in tandem with the best quarterback in the NFC, if not the NFL. Aaron Rodgers has 40 touchdowns, four interceptions and a league-high 118.0 passer rating.

But things weren't quite clicking for him early in Saturday's game against the Panthers. He finished with his second-lowest passer rating of the year (91.6).

No problem. According to Pro Football Focus, Green Bay ball carriers averaged 5.5 yards before contact on 17 first-half carries. That added up to 159 yards rushing, a 9.4-yard average and a 21-3 halftime lead.

So, yeah, the Vikings can use help on the defensive line. But let's not take our eyes off the position group that makes the entire team better:

The offensive line.