Latest PFF Mock Draft Says Defensive Beast for Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings will likely emulate last year’s plan with a trade back from the No. 23 pick. It’s the most efficient way to maximize value, and that’s Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s favorite word.
And without fully disclosing trade parameters, Pro Football Focus foresaw precisely that, a trade back for the Vikings, in its latest mock draft.
Latest PFF Mock Draft Says Defensive Beast for Vikings
Minnesota evidently traded back with the Kansas City Chiefs eight spots for the 31st overall pick and draft assets later in the event. At No. 31, PFF’s Sam Monson envisioned Clemson DT Bryan Bresee for the Vikings.
Monson elaborated, “The Vikings would be tempted by a receiver at this spot, and were I higher on Zay Flowers I might have made that move. They still badly need some interior impact on the defensive line, and the potential in Bryan Bresee is too much to overlook here.”
The Vikings currently employ Dean Lowry and Jonathan Bullard, among others, at Bresee’s spot.
“Last season, Bresee put up 24 pressures on 203 pass-rushing snaps, but his best football could easily be ahead of him, given the way his college career played out,” Monson concluded.
Minnesota hasn’t utilized a truly disruptive defensive tackle in Bresee’s mold since 2013 — Kevin Williams’ final season with the team. Between Mike Zimmer and Kevin O’Connell, it’s always a Shamar Stephen, Jonathan Bullard, or Sheldon Richardson type. Sharrif Floyd was supposed to become a ferocious DT solution ten years ago, but an injury ended his career prematurely.
Drafting Bresee, on paper, would change the philosophy. The Draft Network described Bresee, “He’s twitchy and can rip through lateral contact in order to uncover and then flash to the football with suddenness. He’s capable of gearing down and flattening down the line of scrimmage out of these gap charges to get into pursuit of the football.”
The knock on Bresee? It’s familiar for recent Vikings draftees — injury history. He’s played less than 500 snaps in the last two seasons at Clemson, and his stock on April 27th could fall accordingly — probably why he was available for the Vikings at No. 31 in the Monson mock.
But injury history didn’t faze Adofo-Mensah last year, and assuming Bresee’s injury woes are behind him, it would be marvelous for Minnesota to, alas, employ a fierce defensive lineman in the interior trenches.
For about a decade, the Vikings have relied on the EDGE rushers to effectuate the team’s pass rush. From Danielle Hunter, Za’Darius Smith, Everson Griffen, Yannick Ngakoue, Ifeadi Odenigbo, to Brian Robison, Minnesota “calls it good” with pressure from the outside of the defensive line.
If PFF is correct, Bresee would provide a change.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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