Tyler Forness discusses why the Minnesota Vikings hosting several Georgia Bulldogs could hint at a player that hasn't made it to Minneapolis yet.
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00:00The Minnesota Vikings are bringing multiple top 30 visits from Georgia,
00:03but it's a player on the team not coming in that could be the target.
00:07Let's talk about why.
00:11The Minnesota Vikings are a very interesting team when it comes to the NFL draft
00:14and their strategy behind it.
00:16General Manager Kwasi Doflamenta is very interesting on how he approaches the draft
00:21because he comes from Wall Street, and that's both a good and a bad thing,
00:24and we've seen both manifest themselves over the course of his first three years in office.
00:28Now, entering his fourth draft, we're starting to develop some patterns and trends,
00:33and one of those is how they use top 30 visits.
00:35They use it in a multitude of ways.
00:37The Vikings have made 22 draft picks so far.
00:40Five of them have been picked.
00:43Five top 30 visits, so that's nearly 25%.
00:46Asesio DeMeuwo in 2022, Jordan Addison, Mekhi Blackman, and Dwayne McBride in 2023,
00:51and Dallas Turner in 2024.
00:53But this is where things get really interesting.
00:55They have drafted multiple players that were on teams of other players that visited.
01:02Illinois safety Kirby Joseph visited, and they took Viderian Lowe, the offensive tackle,
01:06in the sixth round at 22.
01:07In 23, they took safety Jay Ward and defensive tackle Jaqueline Roy,
01:11when offensive lineman Anthony Bradford and cornerback Jarek Bernard Converse visited,
01:17and Alabama kicker Will Reichard visited, when they had Dallas Turner and Terry and Arnold,
01:21and as well as Oregon cornerback Kyrie Jackson, when they brought in Taki Taimani.
01:26And he is one of eight undrafted free agents that also visited.
01:30So the Vikings have a wide net, and this is where things get really interesting when it
01:34comes to Georgia.
01:35They have four players visiting on top 30 visits this week.
01:38Tight end Benjamin Eurosek, defensive lineman Warren Brinson, defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse,
01:42and defensive lineman Tyrian Ingram Dawkins.
01:45Now, it could mean the Vikings have interest in all four players, but there's probably a little
01:50bit of other interest, and your arrow might point immediately to Malachi Starks.
01:55Completely understand that.
01:57I think there's a different player in mind.
01:59What's the one thing that links tight end defensive line together?
02:03They all play in the trenches.
02:06I think the target is Mikel Williams.
02:08Also could be Jalen Walker.
02:10But hear me out on Mikel Williams for a second.
02:12One of the things that the Minnesota Vikings lacked last year was an interior pass rush
02:16and juice.
02:18They didn't have a lot of juice from that interior, and they used a lot of the NASCAR package.
02:23Jihad Ward did really well.
02:24Pat Jones did really well.
02:25He got a $2 million, $20 million deal from the Panthers.
02:28Good for him.
02:30But they didn't have a lot of juice from that interior.
02:34So what does Mikel Williams bring?
02:35He brings a guy that plays similar to Javion Clowney.
02:39He is not Javion Clowney.
02:40But they play somewhat similar styles.
02:43They love to attack you.
02:44They love to leverage you with the speed to power game.
02:46They have enough power to be able to handle double teams somewhat.
02:50Clowney was closer to like 280, 285 pounds.
02:54Mikel Williams is 265.
02:56But it's very interesting that they might prioritize this kind of player, because he's also shown
03:01that he can do a little bit of two gapping.
03:03You don't want him to do it all the time, but he can flash it.
03:06He can do gap and a half stuff.
03:07And that's a really impressive thing.
03:08And he's got long enough arms to keep offensive linemen at bay, shed, and be able to get the
03:13tackle on the running back.
03:14He flashed that a lot, especially against Texas.
03:17So why would the Vikings want that?
03:19Well, they want interior players.
03:21They want guys that they can use with versatility.
03:23Mikel Williams is that kind of player.
03:25It's not going to be as versatile as Jalen Walker, who's basically like an Andrew Van
03:28Ginkle, Kyle Van Nooy hybrid, where he is an edge rusher, but he's also an off-ball
03:32linebacker.
03:32And there's real debate on where his spot is.
03:34But don't get it twisted.
03:38They could have interest in any of those four players in Georgia.
03:42But the common thread there is Mikel Williams.
03:45And I find that very, very interesting as we approach the NFL draft and conclude these
03:50top 30 visits.
03:51It's something to be mindful of.
03:54I'm Tyler Fornes with ADZ Sports.
03:56Skull Vikings.