The Minnesota Vikings have nine draft picks on the menu this month, and according to the club’s interim general manager, Rob Brzezinski, the purple team will target the best available player(s) — regardless of position.
Minnesota may need trench help, but its interim GM made clear the board will drive the decision.
The club arguably needs a defensive tackle, center, safety, cornerback, and maybe a running back, but Brzezinski will focus on the best player available.
‘Best Player Available’ Could Send the Vikings in Several Directions
Get your BPA cap on for the Vikings’ draft.
Brzezinski on the Draft
Brzezinski, who is auditioning for the Vikings’ full-time general manager job after Minnesota fired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on January 30th, will not be picking a player just because he has a shaky roster spot.
He told Vikings.com last week, “I think it’s the biggest reason why a lot of players fail in this business… You force a need. And for a lot of reasons it doesn’t work out, and you pass on a player of higher ability for a position of need… it may be old school, but if you get your board set right, and look for the best player available, I think it’s going to lead you down the right path.”
So, if you’re singularly scouting defensive tackles and defensive backs for the Vikings in Round 1, Brzezinski has told you he won’t be pigeonholed into taking a player from that position. Everything is on the table.
What Does This Translate to in Round 1?
Many NFL Draft fans pound the table for the “best player available” mindset, but then end up making their preference the best player available at their favorite team’s main position of need, or the best player available they like most.
If Minnesota truly embraces a BPA flavor, the board could look something like this at No. 18:
- Caleb Downs (S, Ohio State)
- Mansoor Delane (CB, LSU)
- Monroe Freeling (OT, Georgia)
- Spencer Fano (OT, Utah)
- Makai Lemon (WR, USC)
- Jordyn Tyson (WR, Arizona State)
- Jermod McCoy (CB, Tennessee)
- Olaivavega Ioane (IOL, Penn State)
- Kenyon Sadiq (TE, Oregon)
- Dillon Thieneman (S, Oregon)
Downs, Delane, and Lemon probably won’t be available, but never forget that the draft always gets funky in one way or another.
The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis added Monday, “Maybe the most fascinating selections here would be Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq, Georgia tackle Monroe Freeling, or the often-mocked safeties, Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman and Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren. Sadiq seems like a bit of a luxury.”
“That said, Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson is entering the final year of his contract, and Sadiq’s versatile skill set presents enticing offensive ideas. Minnesota doesn’t necessarily need a tackle, but Freeling is a developmental player with a sky-high ceiling. Will he be available at No. 18?”
As Extreme as an Offensive Tackle?
So, here’s the kicker: would the Vikings really drag the best player available mantra into a position like offensive tackle or guard? Minnesota doesn’t need either of those positions this draft, especially if left tackle Christian Darrisaw’s ACL heals cleanly this offseason.
In Freeling, for example, the Vikings would basically draft him and sit him on him until a rainy day. The same goes for Ioane, unless they converted him to center, which is a roster need right now.
All other spots — safety, cornerback, wide receiver, and tight end — would be fair game for the new BPA to play right away. An offensive lineman is, therefore, the almighty test of Minnesota’s commitment to BPA.
The Randy Moss Example from 28 Years Ago
If you need evidence why BPA works, well, Minnesota has that in-house, an example from 1998.
Heading into that fateful draft, the Vikings had Cris Carter and Jake Reed on the depth chart, more than enough firepower for an offense in a run-happy football era. Put plainly, entering the 1998 NFL Draft, the Vikings did not need a wide receiver. They just didn’t.
But Jeff Diamond picked Moss anyway, leaning all the way into a BPA attitude. The result? Moss launched into a Hall of Fame career from day one, creating an entire generation of Vikings fans along the way. BPA worked.
Nine years later, Minnesota picked Adrian Peterson in Round 1 while showcasing a very capable tailback named Chester Taylor on the roster. The same effect occurred: Peterson forged a Hall of Fame career, and Taylor became an afterthought.
Makai Lemon may not be Randy Moss. Yet, if he’s 60% as good, the Vikings should draft him on April 23rd.
Scenarios like that are in play if Brzezinski is telling the truth.
