Kirk Cousins might not make it through the rest of his contract if the Vikings don't come out of this draft with some potential starters on the offensive line to protect him. The offensive line has been Minnesota's glaring weakness all last year (and more), squandering an excellent defense on all three levels and an elite receiver pairing. I implore you, Minnesota: OLs or bust.
Check out which picks the Vikings currently have below, along with our projection of their top positional needs. I'll then build a war-room big board based upon players I think have some kind of chance of making it to their first pick before sharing multiple draft classes that make sense for the team from myself, Chris Trapasso and Ryan Wilson.
As for the actual draft, you'll be able to stream our live coverage right here on CBS Sports HQ (or download the CBS Sports app for free on any mobile or connected TV device) breaking down all the picks and everything you need to know during draft weekend.
Current draft picks
| Round | Overall | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | |
| 2 | 50 | |
| 3 | 81 | |
| 4 | 120 | |
| 6 | 190 | |
| 6 | 209 | Compensatory |
| 7 | 247 | Compensatory |
| 7 | 250 | Compensatory |
Team needs
The CBS Sports NFL writing staff recently compiled positional rankings to identify needs for each team heading into the draft. A helpful guide: any position group that had an average ranking worse than 16.0 (on a scale of 1 to 32) was considered a "need," while any that ranked worse than 23.0 (bottom-third of the league) was considered a "pressing need."
| QB | RB | WR/TE | OL | EDGE | INT DL | LB | DB |
| 18.8 | 19.2 | 6.0 | 30.6 | 7.2 | 12.8 | 6.0 | 5.0 |
Needs: QB, RB, OL
Pressing: OL
The Vikings basically look like a better-on-offense, slightly-worse-on-defense version of the Bears, but with a much more obvious weakness (offensive line) that nevertheless is slightly less important to winning football games. Still, the line completely undermined Minnesota's season last year and needs to be addressed. Cody Ford and the Williamses are popular mock targets. They could also use some help for Dalvin Cook at running back, since he seemingly can't stay healthy.
War room big board
If you don't get some offensive linemen in this draft, Minnesota, what are we even doing here? Cue another first-round corner for Mike Zimmer. Here's how I'd project the Vikings' draft board for their first pick, considering only players I feel have some chance of making it in range:
- OT Jawaan Taylor, Florida (trade up)
- OL Jonah Williams, Alabama
- OT Andre Dillard, Washington State
- OL Cody Ford, Oklahoma
- C Garrett Bradbury, NC State
- TE Noah Fant, Iowa
- DT Jeffery Simmons, Mississippi State
- DE Clelin Ferell, Clemson
- OL Dalton Risner, Kansas State (trade down)
- OT Kaleb McGary, Washington (trade down)
Seven-round mock drafts
| Round | Overall | Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | OT Andre Dillard, Washington State | |
| 2 | 50 | CB Rock Ya-Sin, Temple | |
| 3 | 81 | DT Khalen Saunders, Western Illinois | |
| 4 | 109 | OLB Terrill Hanks, New Mexico State | from JAC* |
| 4 | 120 | to Jacksonville | |
| 6 | 190 | to Jacksonville | |
| 6 | 209 | RB Devine Ozigbo, Nebraska | |
| 7 | 247 | to Jacksonville | |
| 7 | 250 | G Tyler Jones, NC State | |
This class ended up being light on offensive linemen as the Vikings chose to solidify their excellent defense in the middle rounds, but in Round 1 they get an excellent pass-protecting left tackle in Dillard, a selection that allows the Vikings to kick Riley Reiff to guard and find two upgrades at their biggest weakness with one stroke of the pen.
The Vikings start Day 2 with a Mike Zimmer special in Ya-Sin who is still getting better and should be coached up into a starter at corner for the team. Saunders plugs a hole on the inside and should give the team a disruptive presence once he develops.
Rather than waiting until No. 120 to pick, the Vikings package two of their late picks to hop up 11 spots and nab a weakside linebacker in Hanks who can also serve as Anthony Barr insurance thanks to the pass-rush skills he showed in college, where he had 23.5 tackles for loss over the last two years. Ozigbo is a bruiser at running back who can emerge as the team's complement to Dalvin Cook, while Jones is another lottery ticket for the interior of the offensive line.
More seven-round mocks:
(*) indicates pick acquired via trade
Check out more first-round mocks from CBS Sports.