Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings landed a quarterback in the NFL draft, though not the one they had their eyes on.

According to ESPN's Courtney Cronin, the Vikings were readying to draft Ohio State's Justin Fields with their first-round selection at No. 14 overall before the Chicago Bears traded up to take him at No. 11. 

Instead, they landed Kellen Mond in the third round at No. 66 overall. 

Mond going at No. 66 marked the highest pick the Vikings have used on a quarterback since adding Teddy Bridgewater in 2014. He'll slot in behind Kirk Cousins on the depth chart, but with the 32-year-old set to earn $56 million over the next two seasons, there's an opportunity for Mond to take over after he develops. 

Things could have been different if Fields were the one to join the team, as he's a clear option to immediately slot in at starter, even though the Bears have maintained that their offseason acquisition, Andy Dalton, is QB1. 

Cousins was informed that the team was considering taking a quarterback, and the team attempted to trade up from No. 14 overall, according to Cronin. The team was also considering Northwestern offensive tackle Rashawn Slater, Cronin said. 

While Fields would have pretty much guaranteed that Cousins would be on his way out after his current deal, drafting Mond still gives them options down the road. 

HEIGHT: 6'0"

WEIGHT: 311 lbs

      

POSITIVES

—For a squatty, stout nose tackle, he has some explosive traits to his game.

—Play strength is a positive trait for Scott's game.

—Naturally gifted with pad leverage

       

NEGATIVES

—He could be maxed out physically.

—Still a very raw player despite playing a lot of football for high-level coaches.

—Did not get better in four years.

       

2020 STATISTICS

15 TKL, 2 TFL, 1 SK

      

NOTES

—Was a freshman All-American in 2017 as a true freshman.

—Made 42 starts in his college career.

—Turned down in-state offers to the likes of Florida State and Florida as a recruit.

      

OVERALL

Jordon Scott has limited length, but doesn't limit his athleticism or play strength. The biggest issue with his evaluation is that he never improved during his college career, which raises the question of if he has already maxed out his potential.

Scott, a former freshman All-American, has raw skills to play in the NFL, even at his size, but he will need to begin to take the steps to round out the sharp edges in his technical game to continue cashing checks at the NFL level. He should compete for a roster spot as a rookie, whether he is drafted or not.

       

GRADE: 6.76/10 (Round 6)

OVERALL RANK: 207/300

POSITION RANK: DL18

PRO COMPARISON: Josh Chapman

       

Written by B/R NFL Scout Justis Mosqueda

HEIGHT: 6'1 3/4"

WEIGHT: 301 lbs

      

POSITIVES

—Pass-rushing potential as a 3-technique under tackle.

—Has real bend for a defensive tackle.

—Has a developed quick swim move that doesn't expose his ribs to offensive linemen.

—Quick eyes and play recognition is a positive.

—Technically developed for a one-year starter.

—Plays faster than his recorded pro day times.

        

NEGATIVES

—Undersized frame can hurt him at times.

—Risky player in the run game, as he can end up a gap behind his intended run fit.

—Can get knocked back on combos and double-teams, which hurt his linebackers.

—Needs to develop a faster way to disengage from blocks.

      

2020 STATISTICS

Did not play in 2020.

         

NOTES

—Made second-team All-American in 2019, his only season as a full-time starter.

—Opted out of the 2020 season to declare for the draft with two years of eligibility remaining.

—Uncle Parnell Motley was signed with three NFL teams last season and is currently a Denver Bronco.

      

OVERALL

Jaylen Twyman is a raw defensive tackle prospect who is slightly undersized (sub-6'2", 301 pounds), but he is able to make plays in the backfield. The trouble with his evaluation is that he has not played football in a year, only has one season of production and tested much poorly than his 2019 film would suggest.

If he can look like his 2019 self and continue to develop more consistency in his game, he has the chance to crack into a starting lineup as a 3-technique under tackle, but he will likely come off the bench early on in his career as a pass-rushing specialist.

      

GRADE: 7.3/10 (Round 4)

OVERALL RANK: 121/300

POSITION RANK: DL12

PRO COMPARISON: Poona Ford

        

Written by B/R NFL Scout Justis Mosqueda

HEIGHT: 6'6 5/8"

WEIGHT: 245 lbs

       

POSITIVES

—Brings good height and athleticism to the TE position. 

—Natural athlete and fluid mover. Good bend and balance and looks natural with the ball in his hands. 

—Good acceleration and long speed. Consistently threatens defenders on down the field routes and would overwhelm his competition.

—Absolutely dominated his level. Highly productive when he became a full-time starter at TE.

—Has legit punter positional versatility. Averaged over 42.6 yards per punt over his college career.

       

NEGATIVES

—Played against Division II competition.

—Extremely raw at TE. Has only recently been exposed to the position.

—Still learning just about every detail at TE. Wavers on his routes and is just playing backyard football at times. 

—Will need to continue to add play strength and weight to his frame.

        

2019 STATISTICS

13 G, 40 rec., 894 yards, 22.4 avg., 15 TD

      

NOTES

—2019 first-team All-American (TE)

—2019 first-team All-MIAA (TE and Punter)

—2020 season was canceled because of COVID-19.

      

OVERALL

Zach Davidson started his college career as a punter before given the opportunity to try the TE position his sophomore year and running with it, both literally and figuratively. Davidson has legitimate punter ability to create one of the weirdest positional versatility combinations a prospect can have with being a TE and punter.

Davidson has good height and is a good overall athlete, he's an easy mover and shows good body control, bend, acceleration, and long speed that helped him dominate his level of competition. He also shows natural hands when the ball comes his way and plucks throws easily. Davidson is extremely raw in the details of the TE position and is merely an athlete at this point, he needs to improve his route tree and details, as he currently wavers and will take too long trying to get open. He also has just average arm length, which will hinder his blocking ability unless he quickly develops good technique to overcome it.

Overall, Davidson is a strange evaluation but has the athleticism that will lead to a team taking him as a developmental prospect that will probably spend most of his rookie season on practice squad. The punter versatility is a nice cherry on top for value.

        

GRADE: 6.5/10 (Round 7)

OVERALL RANK: 246/300

POSITION RANK: TE9

PRO COMPARISON: Gerald Everett

      

Written by B/R NFL Scout Nate Tice

HEIGHT: 6'0 3/4"

WEIGHT: 181

POSITIVES

— Very good route-runner. Asked to run an extensive route tree from the outside and the slot and shows polish. Good, tight footwork and body control and consistently able to sink and get in and out of breaks. Understands how to use body leverage, shows up when he stacks CBs on Go balls.

— A good and fluid athlete. Plays with great contact balance and core strength (was a water polo player in high school) and can fight through physical DBs despite a skinnier frame.

— Has good short-area quickness, burst and balance. Keeps CBs off-balance with his varied releases and body control and is able to win vs. press. Can make one cut and split a seam quickly with the ball in his hands.

— Very productive on designed run plays for him where he shows off his spatial awareness and quickness. Made the most of all designed plays for him.

— Natural hands, can make the spectacular catch. Comfortable extending for throws (which he had to do a lot with Iowa's QB play). Consistently able to track deep throws over his shoulder or adjust his body for back-shoulder throws.

— Has plus return ability on kickoffs. 

— Plays with a competitive and tough streak. Attacks throws and wants to win every rep.

                   

NEGATIVES

— Will body-catch throws over the middle, appears natural catching the ball but does have the occasional concentration drop when he's trying to do too much.

— Can initially pull away from defenders but does not have true home run speed.

— Slighter build will leave concerns about durability and whether he can win consistently vs. press. Has releases, but physical CBs might not even let him use them.

— Chooses when to turn it up for blocking.

              

2020 STATISTICS

7 G, 25 rec., 345 yards, 13.8 avg., 4 TD, 7 rushing att., 54 yards, 7.7 avg., 1 TD

                

NOTES

— 2018 Big Ten Specialist of the Year

      

OVERALL

Ihmir Smith-Marsette is a dynamic WR who brings a versatile skill set to an offense and special teams. Smith-Marsette played inside and out for Iowa's base personnel-heavy offense, showing body control and short-area burst throughout his game. He's a very good route-runner, showing he can win on the outside vs. pressed-up CBs with good footwork and quickness as well as in the slot due to his consistent ability to sink and quickly get in and out of route breaks.

He does little things like stacking CBs after he beats them on vertical routes, where he also shows his ability to track throws over his shoulder. He is a natural catching the ball, flashing late hands on deep balls and the occasional one-handed catch, but he will have some concentration drops when he's attempting to do too much. Smith-Marsette was very productive on run plays and screens that were designed for him, showing off his body-control traits with quick cuts getting north and the spatial awareness to see holes develop.

These same traits also show with his good kick-return ability. Smith-Marsette is slight of frame, which will raise questions about his durability and whether he can consistently win vs. physical NFL CBs, but he plays with very good core strength that lets him maximize his wiry frame. That core strength can probably be attributed to his background as a water polo player.

Overall, Smith-Marsette has the potential to be a No. 3 weapon for a good offense. He flashes the ability to impact the game with a traditional route tree from the outside, the short-area quickness needed to win from the slot, and the ability to turn any time he touches the ball into an explosive gain. How consistently he can do these things due to his body type and play strength will determine his NFL trajectory.

GRADE: 7.6/10 (Round 3)

OVERALL RANK: 84/300

POSITION RANK: WR13

PRO COMPARISON: Emmanuel Sanders

                     

Written by B/R NFL Scout Nate Tice

HEIGHT: 6'5 3/8"

WEIGHT: 263 lbs

      

POSITIVES

—Long frame with a 7'2 1/4" wingspan and 10 7/8" hands.

—Play strength is apparent on film.

—High-effort player whose motor is not going to be an issue.

—Has some bend to his game for a longer end.

        

NEGATIVES

—Does not keep balance well through regular pass-rushing movements.

—Get-off is not great.

—More explosive out of the end position than from a two-point stance.

—Has much better timed speed than what his film shows.

        

2020 STATISTICS

25 TKL, 7 TFL, 3 SK, 1 PBU

      

NOTES

—Highly recruited prospect out of a struggling program as a prep, turning down offers from the likes of Alabama.

—Off-and-on starter for Florida State for the better part of the past three seasons.

        

OVERALL

Janarius Robinson was a highly recruited prospect who was unable to fully develop at Florida State, a recent theme with the team, which has had three head coaches since 2017. He has bend and length but not the quickness and technique of a starting-caliber defensive end. His snaps out of a two-point stance signal he should be a defensive end, where he should be a backup player early on with the potential to be a mid-level starter down the line.

       

GRADE: 7.21/10 (Round 4)

OVERALL RANK: 134/300

POSITION RANK: EDGE21

PRO COMPARISON: Devin Taylor

       

Written by B/R NFL Scout Justis Mosqueda

HEIGHT: 6'0 1/4"

WEIGHT: 196

            

POSITIVES

—Versatile in scheme use. Plays with very good instincts and awareness.

—Good use of technique in press and off coverage.

—Patient in press. Gets hands-on.

—Has elite quickness and short-area movement.

—Shows smooth hip flip and breaks.

              

NEGATIVES

—Can take a few extra steps out of breaks.

—Lack of length shows up too often in pass and run game.

—Can get bullied on edge and has trouble disengaging.

               

2020 STATISTICS

4 Games: 14 Tackles, 1 INT, 2 PBU

            

OVERALL

Bynum is a versatile cornerback who relies on good technique and smart play. He has shown the ability to play in the slot, as well as out wide. Bynum has the feet to mirror receivers at the line of scrimmage and the hand placement to disrupt routes. With smooth hips to turn and run, Bynum lacks the top-end speed, as faster receivers can pull away from him downfield.

He does a good job reacting to the run with willingness to support, but he has strength deficiencies and can struggle with block destruction. Bynum is versatile enough to fit both a man and zone scheme. Adding depth initially, Bynum has the skill to potentially push to be a starter later in his career.

GRADE: 7.0/10 (Future Role Player/Spot Starter—Round 4)

OVERALL RANK: 165/300

POSITION RANK: CB21

PRO COMPARISON: Victor Harris

Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings

Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said Kirk Cousins is still "our starting quarterback" after the front office selected Texas A&M signal-caller Kellen Mond in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft on Friday night.

"There's no competition there," Spielman told reporters before being asked whether he alerted Cousins of the pick. "... It's just taking another player. It's like, regardless of position, if we take a player in the third round or first round, I'm not calling a player and saying, 'Hey, we may take this guy here.'"

Cousins is coming off a strong 2020 that saw him complete 67.6 percent of his throws for 4,265 yards with a career-high 35 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while playing all 16 games.

The 32-year-old Michigan State product is one of just six quarterbacks to post a passer rating above 100 in each of the last two seasons. He's joined by Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson, Ryan Tannehill and Derek Carr in that select group.

Although his individual numbers are typically strong, team success hasn't always followed. His squads are a combined 51-51-2 in 104 career starts across nine years with Minnesota and the Washington Football Team, and he's 1-2 in three playoff starts.

In February, Cousins told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk he wants to play into at least his late 30s and is hopeful he'll continue with the Vikings for the duration:

"I want to be with the Vikings for as long as they'll have me and as long as I can play football. As far as how long I play, it's so year-to-year. We've seen so much change happen in this league when you just look back a year ago to now. I'm sure a year from now will be no different. Tom Brady, Drew Brees have set the bar so high playing into their early 40s.

"I don't know that I want to play that long, but I do think that to be able to play into your late 30s and to play long enough for my two young boys—I've got two boys, Cooper and Turner. They're only three and almost two—I'd like to play long enough where they can come to practice, watch me play and really remember it and appreciate it. I got a few more years to be able to do that."

Cousins is signed through 2022 as part of a two-year, $66 million contract extension he signed with Minnesota last March.

Meanwhile, Mond is a developmental prospect who made positive strides across four years with the Aggies, highlighted by a completion percentage that increased from 51.5 percent as a freshman to 63.3 percent as a senior.

He's not an imminent threat to Cousins' job as he's still got a lot of work to do in terms of throwing with anticipation into tight windows—the biggest difference between college football and the NFL—and reading defensive assignments to make quicker progressions.

His physical tools are impressive, so it feels like a situation where the Vikings will give him the next two years to see how much he can develop before potentially taking over the offense in 2023 if they move on from Cousins when his deal expires.

HEIGHT: 6'4¼"

WEIGHT: 261

     

POSITIVES

—Will capitalize on tackles who cannot handle power moves with his bull rush and long-arm moves.

—Has the potential to win in a phone booth.

—Arm extension is never going to be an issue, as he bases his game around it.

—Is a high-effort player who does not stay blocked, even chasing the ball on downhill angles.

—Has flashed the ability to bend, but it is inconsistent.

—Secure tackler with long arms means that when he gets penetration in the run game, it's a TFL.

      

NEGATIVES

—Explosion off the ball is an issue for the position.

—Rough around the edges as an outside rusher, plays high when he's not using power moves.

—His stunts can be stalled when he's matched up with someone who can handle his power.

—Can be taken out of alignment by a tight end whose alignment forces him to outside rush responsibilities.

      

2020 STATISTICS

42 TKL, 12.5 TFL, 9 SK, 3 PBU, 1 FR

     

NOTES

—Team captain in 2020.

     

OVERALL

Patrick Jones is a 6-technique defensive end who primarily is a length and strength pass-rusher, not a speed rusher. He needs to be lined up one-on-one with offensive tackles, where he needs a length advantage to play to his full potential. At the moment, he is likely a bench player who plays situationally depending on the matchup week-to-week. 

     

GRADE: 6.8/10 (Round 5)

OVERALL RANK: 200/300

POSITION RANK: EDGE26

PRO COMPARISON: Josh Sweat

Written by B/R NFL Scout Justis Mosqueda

HEIGHT: 6'3 5/8"

WEIGHT: 315

POSITIVES

—Above-average athletic ability and quickness.

—Physical player with a nasty demeanor; looks to finish and dominate his opponent.

—Stout anchor; does a nice job creating force through the ground to throttle down momentum of the bull-rush, strain and reset his hands underneath the frame of rushers to maintain control.

—Accurate hand placement to fit and gain leverage at the point of attack on reach, scoop and zone combo blocks.

—More of a grabber than a striker in pass protection, which works well for him because of his placement.

—Once latched inside the frame of defenders, he shows impressive grip strength to sustain, steer and control the block.

NEGATIVES

—Needs to work on his eye discipline and recognition in pass protection to pick up late-developing loopers.

—Inconsistent footwork and angles climbing up to the second level, restricting his ability to come to balance and line up his target consistently.

—Struggles to adjust his aiming points against gap exchanges and post-snap movement, resulting in him getting a narrow base, lunging and being on the ground too often.

2020 STATISTICS

—11 starts

—Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year

—Unanimous All-American

—Team captain

NOTES

—2019 first-team All-American.

—25 career starts.

—Training for the draft with Duke Manyweather at Michael Johnson Performance in Mckinney, Texas.

—Former 5-star guard prospect out of California.

—Father is actor Duane Davis (The Program), and his grandfather is former Packers Hall of Fame defensive lineman Willie Davis.

OVERALL

Davis is a physical tone-setter with the length, use of hands and anchor to excel in a diverse run scheme while setting a firm pocket in pass protection. He needs to shore up his footwork out of his stance and weight distribution to improve his ability to stay upright and locate defenders in space as a run-blocker, but he has the right demeanor and skill set to excel as a pass protector right away and hold his own as a run-blocker.

GRADE: 7.9/10 (2nd Round)

OVERALL RANK: 37/300

POSITION RANK: IOL5

PRO COMPARISON: Jeff Allen

Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn