Don't You Dare MOCK Us!

[VikeManDan]

14 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

3 of the next 4 mockers in that draft said they intended to take Beebe, before i swooped in with a trade to get him.

i said, "we are Vikings, we plunder."

Assume you're now looking to add defense? Great start!

[vikesfan89]

55 minutes ago, vike daddy said:

3 of the next 4 mockers in that draft said they intended to take Beebe, before i swooped in with a trade to get him.

i said, "we are Vikings, we plunder."

As long as he can play guard, I like it.  Other than QB, guard might be the biggest immediate need

[Purplepride323]

12 hours ago, vike daddy said:

I wonder if Jefferson was there to catch passes from him as well. It would we cool to have Jefferson give his insight on who throws it the best out of the QBs in this class. 

Edited April 5 by Purplepride323

[vike daddy]

57 minutes ago, Purplepride323 said:

I wonder if Jefferson was there to catch passes from him as well. It would we cool to have Jefferson give his insight on who throws it the best out of the QBs in this class. 

true. but we're just looking at pass and catch and some timing things in these events. it might be more interesting to talk to the defensive players he faced, and see how he faced their pressures.

[vike daddy]

11 hours ago, VikeManDan said:

Assume you're now looking to add defense? Great start!

Last Chance Mock Draft
 

1.8 JJ McCarthy, QB
2.54 Cooper Beebe, OG

3.74 Ruke Orhorhoro, DT

Picks remaining:
4.109
5.143
6.177
7.230
7.232

 

Ruke Orhorhoro

6'4, 294
Lagos, Nigeria

NFL Comparison: Justin Madubuike

Orhorhoro had to wait his turn and share reps during his time at Clemson, thanks to the Tigers' deep, talented defensive fronts. His game is built upon leverage and explosiveness, but in 2023, he added a little more polish. Orhorhoro can get distracted by individual battles and needs to keep his focus trained on pursuing the ball and making positive plays. His foot quickness and sudden hands shine in the running game and as a pass rusher when he has space to work, so teams would be wise to keep that in mind when it comes to his alignments. The pass rush still needs improvement, but he projects as an ascending talent and future starter in odd or even fronts.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/ruke-orhorhoro/32004f52-4841-5291-3d07-20a45c6b3ad7

 

 

Ruke Orhorhoro fits the description of a high-ceiling NFL draft prospect to a T. His combination of strength and athleticism is evident on film, and he's still relatively new to the game having grown up in Nigeria before moving to Michigan. He was primarily a basketball player before hitting the gridiron for the first time as a junior in high school.

Against the run, Orhorhoro only has a few flaws in his game. He takes on blocks with good leverage and has the upper-body strength to not only gain control of the block but also snap the heads back of offensive linemen. Also, his agility allows him to avoid getting reached. He just needs to work on getting off blocks to increase production, but the foundation is certainly there.

The Tiger is a little more limited as a pass-rusher, though. He has a decent bull rush that should translate to the NFL, but he needs to develop another move beyond that. A big reason for that is he's still learning to use his hands; however, Orhorhoro did get much better at playing the hands after contact as this past season went on.

So, between his athleticism and growth, the Clemson product could become a more productive pass-rusher in the pros than he was in college.

Schematically, Orhorhoro is pretty versatile. He could play as a 4i- to 5-technique in odd fronts or as a 3-technique in even fronts, though he may need to put a few more pounds on to be a perfect fit in the latter.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10091048-ruke-orhorhoro-nfl-draft-2024-scouting-report-for-clemson-dl

 

 

[gopherwrestler]

17 hours ago, Purplepride323 said:

I wonder if Jefferson was there to catch passes from him as well. It would we cool to have Jefferson give his insight on who throws it the best out of the QBs in this class. 

I doubt Jefferson would be doing any extra “workouts” for the team without a new contract.

[VikeManDan]

21 hours ago, Purplepride323 said:

I wonder if Jefferson was there to catch passes from him as well. It would we cool to have Jefferson give his insight on who throws it the best out of the QBs in this class. 

 

4 hours ago, gopherwrestler said:

I doubt Jefferson would be doing any extra “workouts” for the team without a new contract.

Frankly, I'm not even sure it is allowed. Is it?

[VikeManDan]

Big fan of that pick @vike daddy, you're killing it.

[Purplepride323]

Four Round Mock: Sticking and Picking.

Contrary to popular belief, I think that it’ll be the best decision to stick and pick with our first four picks in order to rack up more talented players from this year’s draft. 
 

Pick #11 Michael Penix Jr. - One of my favorite QBs from this year’s class. He throws the best deep ball and has good athleticism that allows him to make tacklers miss and extend the play within or outside of the pocket. He’s probably the best pocket passer and can make NFL throws on every rep. After that Texas game I remember thinking, “Wow him and Jefferson would be an amazing tandem”. His throws just drop perfectly into the receivers hands and his touch on the ball is special. I think there’s no chance that he gets past the Raiders at #13 so we have to pick him at #11 in order for him to be our next franchise QB. 
 

Pick #23 T’Vondre Sweat- This dude is a monster. That’s all that needs to be said about him. He’s got rare twitchiness for a 365 pound man. Teams will not be able to single block him, and he dominates against the run, but he also had 26 QB hurries, which means that he’s valuable on pass rush downs as well. To me it’s a no brainer. I’d take him over Byron Murphy II, not because Byron Murphy II isn’t the best 3Tech in the draft but because a Nose Tackle like Sweat is extremely rare. 3Techs like Murphy are a dime a dozen but I can’t remember the last 365 pound Nose Tackle that had the strength, twitchiness, and technique of T’Vondre Sweat. He’d be a day one 0 tech starter in my opinion, with Phillips and Bullard to his sides. Tillery, Roy and Jonah Williams will be the back-ups.

Pick #108- Jarrian Jones- After addressing our biggest need on defense (Defensive Tackle) I think that our next biggest need on that side of the ball is at CB. We currently have Byron Murphy, Shaq Griffin, Mekhi Blackmon, Akayleb Evans, and Andrew Booth. Although that’s pretty solid, I often remember Mike Zimmer saying that you can never have too many corners, and it’s very true. With that being said, Mike Zimmer would love this pick because Jones is a physical freak and would instantly be the most athletic player in the secondary. He’s big and fast with great change of direction. PFF had him graded in the 90s as a nickel at FSU and that’s really tough with the competition at the SEC. He can play outside or inside and a lot of corners will tell you that playing inside is harder because you have to tackle and play the run well. Jones was arguably the best nickel corner in college football last year. He’s got that dog mentality so he’s not a slouch and will get physical, which is what Brian Flores demands from his CBs in his system. Another thing that I like about Jones is that he drastically improved every year, which is a great sign and shows how cerebral and coachable he is. One of my favorite sleepers in the draft. 

Pick #129- Hunter Nourzad- This a deep guard class and it makes sense why we haven’t resigned Risner or signed another guard to replace him. Blake Brandel might be an option at LG but I think that Nourzad has what it takes to be an immediate starter at the position and he is projected to go in the 4th round. Getting an immediate starter in the 4th is great value and this is a great draft. Which is the main reason why I’m all for sticking and picking, at least with our first four picks. Nourzad, besides having a great name (sounds like a Viking) has above-average strength and can block Nose Tackles, which Ezra Cleveland was never able to do. He played 2022 at LG and committed zero penalties, which is great because Ed Ingram has killed us over the years in that department. He did great at center last year but I think that LG would be an easier position for him to play in the beginning fazes of his career. 

This would be an ideal first four picks in my opinion and we’d get two immediate starters in Sweat and Nourzad with two future starters in Penix and Jones. After addressing these needs I think that we’d be pretty set and solid at every single position. That’ll be amazing and put the cherry on top of a great offseason by Kwesi. My favorite move in the offseason was letting Kirk go and being able to solidify the defense with all of that freed up money. The same money that would’ve went to Kirk was used to get Greenard, Van Ginkel, Cashman and Griffin. I’m all for it. 

 

Edited April 6 by Purplepride323

[GermanVike]

17 hours ago, Purplepride323 said:

Four Round Mock: Sticking and Picking.

Contrary to popular belief, I think that it’ll be the best decision to stick and pick with our first four picks in order to rack up more talented players from this year’s draft. 
 

Pick #11 Michael Penix Jr. - One of my favorite QBs from this year’s class. He throws the best deep ball and has good athleticism that allows him to make tacklers miss and extend the play within or outside of the pocket. He’s probably the best pocket passer and can make NFL throws on every rep. After that Texas game I remember thinking, “Wow him and Jefferson would be an amazing tandem”. His throws just drop perfectly into the receivers hands and his touch on the ball is special. I think there’s no chance that he gets past the Raiders at #13 so we have to pick him at #11 in order for him to be our next franchise QB. 
 

Pick #23 T’Vondre Sweat- This dude is a monster. That’s all that needs to be said about him. He’s got rare twitchiness for a 365 pound man. Teams will not be able to single block him, and he dominates against the run, but he also had 26 QB hurries, which means that he’s valuable on pass rush downs as well. To me it’s a no brainer. I’d take him over Byron Murphy II, not because Byron Murphy II isn’t the best 3Tech in the draft but because a Nose Tackle like Sweat is extremely rare. 3Techs like Murphy are a dime a dozen but I can’t remember the last 365 pound Nose Tackle that had the strength, twitchiness, and technique of T’Vondre Sweat. He’d be a day one 0 tech starter in my opinion, with Phillips and Bullard to his sides. Tillery, Roy and Jonah Williams will be the back-ups.

Pick #108- Jarrian Jones- After addressing our biggest need on defense (Defensive Tackle) I think that our next biggest need on that side of the ball is at CB. We currently have Byron Murphy, Shaq Griffin, Mekhi Blackmon, Akayleb Evans, and Andrew Booth. Although that’s pretty solid, I often remember Mike Zimmer saying that you can never have too many corners, and it’s very true. With that being said, Mike Zimmer would love this pick because Jones is a physical freak and would instantly be the most athletic player in the secondary. He’s big and fast with great change of direction. PFF had him graded in the 90s as a nickel at FSU and that’s really tough with the competition at the SEC. He can play outside or inside and a lot of corners will tell you that playing inside is harder because you have to tackle and play the run well. Jones was arguably the best nickel corner in college football last year. He’s got that dog mentality so he’s not a slouch and will get physical, which is what Brian Flores demands from his CBs in his system. Another thing that I like about Jones is that he drastically improved every year, which is a great sign and shows how cerebral and coachable he is. One of my favorite sleepers in the draft. 

Pick #129- Hunter Nourzad- This a deep guard class and it makes sense why we haven’t resigned Risner or signed another guard to replace him. Blake Brandel might be an option at LG but I think that Nourzad has what it takes to be an immediate starter at the position and he is projected to go in the 4th round. Getting an immediate starter in the 4th is great value and this is a great draft. Which is the main reason why I’m all for sticking and picking, at least with our first four picks. Nourzad, besides having a great name (sounds like a Viking) has above-average strength and can block Nose Tackles, which Ezra Cleveland was never able to do. He played 2022 at LG and committed zero penalties, which is great because Ed Ingram has killed us over the years in that department. He did great at center last year but I think that LG would be an easier position for him to play in the beginning fazes of his career. 

This would be an ideal first four picks in my opinion and we’d get two immediate starters in Sweat and Nourzad with two future starters in Penix and Jones. After addressing these needs I think that we’d be pretty set and solid at every single position. That’ll be amazing and put the cherry on top of a great offseason by Kwesi. My favorite move in the offseason was letting Kirk go and being able to solidify the defense with all of that freed up money. The same money that would’ve went to Kirk was used to get Greenard, Van Ginkel, Cashman and Griffin. I’m all for it. 

 

Would be ecstatic about that draft.

[viking]

19 hours ago, Purplepride323 said:

 

Pick #23 T’Vondre Sweat- This dude is a monster. That’s all that needs to be said about him. He’s got rare twitchiness for a 365 pound man. Teams will not be able to single block him, and he dominates against the run, but he also had 26 QB hurries, which means that he’s valuable on pass rush downs as well. To me it’s a no brainer. I’d take him over Byron Murphy II, not because Byron Murphy II isn’t the best 3Tech in the draft but because a Nose Tackle like Sweat is extremely rare. 3Techs like Murphy are a dime a dozen but I can’t remember the last 365 pound Nose Tackle that had the strength, twitchiness, and technique of T’Vondre Sweat. He’d be a day one 0 tech starter in my opinion, with Phillips and Bullard to his sides. Tillery, Roy and Jonah Williams will be the back-ups.

 

 

 

absolutely not true.....

 

 

[Purplepride323]

2 hours ago, viking said:

absolutely not true.....

 

 

Braden Fiske, Jerzhan Newton and Ruke Orhorhoro are just as effective as 3techs and they’re in the same draft. That’s what I meant. You can’t show me another T’Vondre Sweat from this draft class. They’re much more rare to find. That’s what I was getting at. I didn’t say that I don’t like Murphy. He’s actually my favorite 3Tech, but there are other 3Techs that I like from this draft as well. Sweat is the only 0Tech that stood out to me as a special talent that’s worthy of a first round pick. 

Edited April 7 by Purplepride323

[Boda]

2 hours ago, viking said:

absolutely not true.....

 

 

Agreed but everything he said before & after is true

[vike daddy]

Last Chance Mock Draft
 

1.8 JJ McCarthy, QB
2.54 Cooper Beebe, OG
3.74 Ruke Orhorhoro, DT

4.109 Nehemia Pritchett, CB

Picks remaining:
5.143
6.177
7.230
7.232

Nehemia Pritchett

cornerback, Auburn 
6'0. 190
Jackson, AL

Overview
Long, slender outside corner who might have improved enough in off-man coverage for consideration in most coverage schemes. Pritchett has the length to stall the release and be a route bully underneath. He's fairly comfortable from press and will hug up on double moves and comebacks, using his length to impact throwing windows. He might need safety help over the top, as he can be a little sluggish to flip and sprint deep from his pedal, and his lateral transitions are average, allowing small separations at lateral break points. His size and length will be appealing on Day 2 of the draft, but he needs to become a more consistent tackler in run support to find consistent starting reps.

Strengths

• Size and athleticism to handle multiple coverage techniques.
• Outstanding arm length to slow receivers from press.
• Has the footwork to mirror and match release from his pedal.
• Matches receiver's tempo changes outside the numbers.
• Times up ball challenges with proper angles.
• Attacks the catch point with effective rakes and slaps.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/nehemiah-pritchett/32005052-4979-0475-45d7-4f092566c86a
 

Though Pritchett isn't viewed in the highest echelon of prospects at cornerback in this year's Draft, he still profiles as a starter in the NFL with some development.

The Auburn product didn't have the flashiest numbers from a takeaway perspective, but his intangibles and skill set points toward being a capable contributor at the next level. Pritchett is a lengthy defender with solid deep speed (4.36 40 yard time) that allows him to stay at the hip of wideouts on vertical routes.

In nine games for the Tigers last season, he was targeted 26 times. Pritchett allowed just 12 receptions and one touchdown, while notching one interception. He allowed a completion percentage of 46.2% and an NFL-equivalent passer rating of 58.8.

https://www.si.com/nfl/lions/nehemiah-pritchett-visiting-lions

[vike daddy]

Last Chance Mock Draft
 

1.8 JJ McCarthy, QB
2.54 Cooper Beebe, OG
3.74 Ruke Orhorhoro, DT
4.109 Nehemia Pritchett, CB

5.143 Isaiah Davis, RB

Picks remaining:
6.177
7.230
7.232

Isaiah Davis, RB, South Dakota State

6'0, 218
Joplin, MO
 

Overview

Brinks-truck runner with the size and power to collide through first contact and create additional yards. Davis is a naturally physical player due to his size but also possesses the bend and footwork to create alternate pathways when needed. He will need to ramp up his decisiveness and hit holes more quickly to thrive through the step up in competition. Davis has limited speed to widen NFL defenses and will need to run with more downhill focus. He has the potential to play all three downs and should be in consideration in the middle rounds.

Strengths

• Well-built frame includes flexible lower body and nimble feet.
• Patient and capable following his blocks as inside or outside runner.
• Feet chop through reads and contact to keep runs from stalling out.
• Runs with very heavy pads to break tackles and carry bodies with him.
• Adequate footwork to re-route the run according to traffic with relative success.
• Has the size, strength and pass-catching background for third-down reps.

https://www.nfl.com/prospects/isaiah-davis/32004441-5641-0574-531b-0bc55bd5bc41

Davis shined during the Combine's on-field drills, showing excellent fluidity and footwork throughout the day. He also continued to address the questions surrounding his ability as a receiving threat with a solid performance in pass-catching drills. He also posted a solid 40-yard dash time (4.57) for his size at almost 220 lbs, which ranked Top-20 among running backs.

Davis posted an 8.34 Relative Athletic Score (RAS), which ranked No. 294 out of over 1,700 running backs since 1987.

https://www.si.com/college/fcs/mvfc/2024-nfl-scouting-combine-isaiah-davis-south-dakota-state-results-measurements

 

Accomplishments:

First-team FCS All-American (2023) • Team Captain (2023)

“Isaiah Davis is a highly productive running back with the size and NFL-caliber skill set worth developing.” 

Strengths:

• NFL build/frame
• Workhorse RB
• Ball security (three fumbles in four years in 677 carries)
• Outstanding production
• Leverage processing

https://www.thedraftnetwork.com/2024/01/29/isaiah-davis-scouting-report-nfl-draft-2024

Edited April 9 by vike daddy