NFL Draft countdown: How will Vikings approach first round?

The 2024 NFL Draft is 23 days away. The Minnesota Vikings took WR Jordan Addison 23rd overall last year and they’ll pick 23rd again this year, while also holding the 11th pick. Here’s who experts think they'll take.

ESPN (Mike Tannenbaum): Jer'Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois

Thanks to a trade with the Texans, Minnesota has a pair of first-round picks this year. Tannenbaum has the Vikings trading for Cardinals QB Kyler Murray with the 11th pick and concentrating on defense at No. 23. In Newton, Minnesota gets a two-time All-American and 2023 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year to add to their improving defensive line. 

"Minnesota did a great job of addressing its edges in free agency (Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel), and now I have the Vikings landing an explosive interior pass-rusher who had 18 sacks and 95 pressures over 45 games at Illinois," Tannenbaum wrote.

At 6-foot-2 and 304 pounds, Newton is a bit undersized for a tackle but shows good hands and quick feet when setting up blockers. He’s equally good against the run or pass and scored second-best at his position at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Pro Football Network (Cam Mellor): Bo Nix, QB, Oregon

Several PFN analysts took turns using the site’s mock draft simulator for their latest mock draft and believe Minnesota could fill the void left by Kirk Cousins with one of the most intriguing quarterbacks in the draft.