On-field workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine begin Thursday and continue through Sunday.
Although it’s not football in its fullest form, per se, evaluating prospects as they strain themselves in testing, such as the 40-yard dash and vertical jump, plus position-specific drills, offers attending scouts and coaches from all 32 clubs another data point for NFL Draft big boards before the April 23-25 event.
Let’s just put it this way: Players can gain or lose significant merits at the Indianapolis-based combine.
It’s fairly early in the process, still, but as March and college pro days creep into view and some projections are being filed as almost final, we’ve noticed a projected trend for Minnesota in the first round, according to draft experts across the web; the Vikings are predicted to select a defensive back.
Maybe Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy, South Carolina’s Brandon Cisse or Clemson’s Avieon Terrell. Not sold on a Round 1 cornerback? Perhaps, Minnesota eyes a three-level safety like Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman or Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. One thing is agreed upon: the defensive secondary class is strong.
In the third iteration of our Mock Draft Tracker series, which shines a light on the players who prognosticators are forecasting to the Vikings at No. 18 (and sometimes later), we found 20 entries pounding the table for 11 unique players. The most frequently mocked was the former Tigers CB Terrell (5), whose brother A.J. was drafted 16th overall in 2020. Five others received two mentions: McCoy, Thieneman and McNeil-Warren, along with Florida DL Caleb Banks and Penn State OL Olaivavega Ioane.
One-offs in this cycle of mocks are Georgia LB CJ Allen, Cisse, Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love, Ohio State DL Kayden McDonald and Clemson DL Peter Woods. The 11 prospects outlined are combine participants.
Enough from us, let’s check out what draft gurus have said in the two weeks since Version 2.0 dropped.