If the NFL Draft were today the Minnesota Vikings would have the 20th overall pick in the first round. Dane Brugler of The Athletic believes that if the Vikings were put on the clock right now, they would take Illinois defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton.
No quarterback with the first-round pick? That flies in the face of what Minnesota sports insider Darren Wolfson said this week, though interior defensive line is an area of need for the Vikings after they had Sheldon Day taking snaps (and playing well) on Monday night against Chicago.
"With his lack of size, Newton isn’t a consensus first-round pick — some teams believe he is more of a second-rounder. But given his disruptive nature while playing a high number of snaps, he offers a ton of value, especially in a lackluster defensive tackle class," Brugler argued his case for Minnesota.
Where does Brugler have quarterbacks going in the first round?
- Caleb Williams, USC: 1st overall to the Bears
- Drake Maye, North Carolina: 3rd overall to the Patriots
- Jayden Daniels, LSU: 7th overall to the Buccaneers
- J.J. McCarthy, Michigan: 22nd overall to the Seahawks
Maybe Brugler knows something others don't, but Wolfson has repeatedly reportedly that the Vikings have been doing their homework on McCarthy. So if the Michigan quarterback was really on the board when the Vikings are picking, would they really go with a defensive tackle over a potential franchise quarterback?
"The amount of work they are doing on these quarterbacks, I will be surprised if they don't go quarterback high," Wolfson said during an appearance on SKOR North's Mackey & Judd show Tuesday.
McCarthy has led Michigan to a 12-0 record and a likely seat in the College Football Playoff. Newton has been a force for Illinois and Minnesota fans who watched him play against the Gophers earlier this year will remember that he missed the first half before dominating in the second half as the Illini found a way to beat the Gophers in the final minute of the game.
Chris Trapasso's hot-off-the-presses mock draft for CBS Sports has Newton going ninth overall, saying: "It feels like Newton is going to test through the roof at the combine, and he's quite easily the best interior pass rusher in the class."
Trapasso has the Vikings taking Oregon quarterback Bo Nix 20th overall.
Minnesota's quarterback situation is a messy one with Kirk Cousins rehabbing a ruptured Achilles ahead of becoming a free agent in March. Josh Dobbs was magical for two starts but has fallen back to earth the past two games. He's also a free agent in March. Nick Mullens is a career backup and rookie Jaren Hall's ceiling as a QB in the NFL is an unknown.
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