3.2 Rumors
| On 8 years ago

Vikings Annual “Top 30” Event Underway

By Carl Knowles

image courtesy of vikings.com

The Minnesota Vikings began welcoming players to Winter Park on Tuesday for their “Top-30” annual draft prospect event, which uses many of their allotted 30 pre-draft visits that each NFL team is allowed to conduct. It’s a good opportunity to bring the players in all at once to meet the coaches and team personnel, and go out to dinner and see how they interact as a group.

It is no secret the Vikings have invested some time and interest in finding a wide receiver this draft season, and Laquon Treadwell of Mississippi and Josh Doctson of TCU seem to be the top two targets getting most of the Vikings attention. Typically the Vikings have not been a heavy smoke screen team that wastes time on players they are not genuinely high on, that’s good news for Treadwell and Doctson. However, at the same time they’re also very good at not showing their hand on other players they covet enough to draft.

So, with a grain of salt, here is a partial list of names rumored to be invited to the event.

Josh Doctson, WR, TCU
Laquon Treadwell, WR, Mississippi
K.J. Maye, WR, Minnesota
Rees Odhiambo, OL, Boise State
Reggie Ragland, LB, Alabama
Darron Lee, LB, Ohio State
K.J. Dillon, S, West Virginia
Rashard Higgins, WR, Colorado State
Eric Murray, CB, Minnesota
Briean Boddy-Calhoun, CB, Minnesota
De’Vondre Campbell, LB, Minnesota
Ryan Smith, CB, North Carolina Central

Here are additional names being linked to the Vikings via post season games and workout meetings.

Moritz Wilhelm Boehringer, WR, Germany
Jake Brendel, C, UCLA
Vernon Butler, DT/NT, Louisiana Tech
Devon Cajuste, WR, Stanford
Theiren Cockran, DE/3-4OLB, Minnesota
Trevon Coley, DT, Florida Atlantic
Ken Crawley, CB, Colorado
Darrell Greene, G, San Diego State
Darion Griswold, TE, Arkansas State
Joe Haeg, OT, North Dakota State
Tyrone Holmes, DE, Montana
Jordan Jenkins, OLB/3-4OLB, Georgia
Denver Kirkland, G, Arkansas
Darius Latham, DT, Indiana
Steve Longa, OLB, Rutgers
Desmond Morgan, OLB, Michigan
Eric Rawls, CB, Kentucky State
Jarran Reed, DT/3-4DE/NT, Alabama
Roy Robertson-Harris, DE, Texas-El Paso
Jake Rudock, QB, Michigan
Ryan Smith, CB, North Carolina Central
Terrance Smith, OLB/ILB, Florida State
Stephen Weatherly, OLB/DE/3-4OLB, Vanderbilt
Cody Whitehair, G, Kansas State

 

Carl Knowles

Carl Knowles (Contributor) is a former member of the Professional Bowler Association and an avid lifelong Vikings fan. When he is not bowling you can find him on websites and forum pages sharing his creative insight and enthusiasm for the Minnesota Vikings any chance he gets. Carl was a Phoenix Institute of Technology and Purdue University standout who currently enjoys the challenge of being a graphic director in the printing business. You can follow him on twitter @carlknowles_vt.

Tags: Josh Doctson minnesota vikings Nfl draft 2016 Private invite list

View Comments

  • Wow,what a weird list.6 corners and only 1 safety? I am a little surprised by that.

  • Yeah, I don't think there is another group in this draft that is making less buzz than the safeties. The good news is the Vikings should be able to land a good one in the mid rounds. This position is probably not one they will tip their hand.

  • Hello Carl,

    Would love to know who you think is a better fit for the Vikings - Treadwell or Doctson?

    PS - you have a extra e on the end of secret at the beginning of the second paragraph :-)

    • Treadwell, but the Vikings will probably like Doctson's speed more. One small detail that concerns me about fit,... His QB was Trevone Boykin who is an extremely athletic playmaker who was outstanding at buying time outside the pocket and taking shots down field. TCU has a wide open fast offense with a limited route tree. That is NOT at all what the Vikings do. Will Doctson be happy catching 3-5 balls a game and blocking for Adrian? I like Doctson, but I have a hard time buying that he will come to Minnesota and change the offensive concepts. My fear is he will be under-utilized and unhappy. I hope I'm wrong.

      • How do you feel about Thomas? I personally agree that I think Doctson's skills are appealing to the Vikings. With the move indoors, I'm wondering if they envision him allowing Teddy to return to his Louisville style of aggressive play more.

        Having said that, a guy like Thomas is really intriguing to me as a guy whose role is to kill in the 10-20 yard range that Teddy's quite good at. I'm skeptical of Treadwell in the first, but would be happy with him in the second.

        Your thoughts?

        • I like Thomas a lot. Good blocker... great fit. Vikings could take best available in round one and trade up from pick 54 to go get him. I like that idea a bunch. He is a great route runner with good speed size and hands. TWO THUMBS UP FOR HIM.

      • So much emphasis is placed on speed. Whenever that is brought up I can't help but to mention Troy Willimason. No, Treadwell is not a burner. Cris Carter was not a burner either.. How'd Cris do?