Written By Arif Hasan
Photo Credit: YouTube
At the heart of any mock draft is a process. A lot of times the process isn’t laid out, but usually the mocker is trying to fit needs to talent in order to fill as many spots as possible on a team—essentially using round one to fill the biggest need (if possible), round two to fill the next biggest need and so on. Many times, they’ll avoid that if the team they’re mocking for is near the top of the draft and there are some special players, but that’s the process.
In this mock draft, I’ll use Drafttek’s computer-driven mock that automates the process described above and should give us a good sense of who will be available at each pick—though after the fourth round, will be more of a suggestion than a hard-and-fast rule.
When possible, I’ll pick players that meet the high-value scores I’ve derived for each position—look at the linebacker and wide receiver stories to learn more about using data to identify your best bets at those positions.
Also, instead of grabbing the most important need in round one, the next important need in round two and so on, we’ll use Zach Whitman’s work at 3SigmaAthlete.com to see which positions typically overperform their draft position in each round and grab those players in those rounds.
This means attempting to grab a receiver early, an offensive linemen or defensive back in the second and third rounds, defensive linemen in the fourth, fifth or sixth rounds and linebackers whenever. Per usual Vikings tradition, we’ll draft a fast linebacker in the seventh round to play special teams.
Click here for the complete mock draft!