#3

It's mid-week, that means it's time to mock draft!

Here is last week's edition

Now onto the new one

A bit of a wrinkle this week, while I still went with players at the top of the board, I factored in moves that are at least coin flips. It didn't take long for that to impact the approach because two linebackers were in the top five available at 14. I've considered Anthony Barr overpaid since before he signed his extension. Now to see the sort of highlight plays that Eric Wilson was able to make in Barr's stead only adds to that notion. Wilson may well be rewarded handsomely for his 2020 season but neither he nor Barr should get pay checks from Eagan going forward. So, instead I went with Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah out of Notre Dame, by a hair over Micah Parsons.

When pick 78 finally came around the top of the board was littered with players whose positions are not especially weak right now. TE Brevin Jordan from Miami was considered based on the perpetual idea that Kyle Rudolph will not be in the royal colors next season. Even if that proves to be the case, Irv Smith & Tyler Conklin can hold it down. Reaching for OL was also considered, because there is no greater hole than that. But I've learned from the history of reaching for players and even in a fantasy draft am reluctant to do so. And so I went with door number three. To go along with Danielle Hunter & DJ Wonnum, Hamilcar Rashed Jr., Oregon St..

Twelve picks later Jordan was still on the board, as was personal-favorite Jabril Cox. But LB isn't such a need that I could justify two in the top-three selections. How the team views Ezra Cleveland going forward would determine the viability of my decision. If they think he's a long-term guard then the need to add someone to compete for tackle opposite Brian O'Neill rise significantly. Likewise if they want to move him outside - then the interior because even more of a hot mess. For this simulation I made the call that they'll keep him at guard and thus drafted Spenser Brown out of Northern Iowa.

In the time that passed between picks, Kellen Mond was tabbed to Carolina. With a real need to upgrade the talent of the backup QB, that's an L for the Purple. Forced to pivot, I began to consider the sorry season that Anthony Harris had in 2020. He very likely cost himself millions of dollars by rejecting Minnesota and playing under the franchise tag. It's not beyond reason to think that he'll be back at a severe discount, but even if that proves to be the case, a long-term option needs to be added. It just so happened that a rangy, ball-hawking safety was near the top of the board at 119. Pick made, Andre Cisco - Syracuse.

With the failed Mike Hughes experiment soon to be over, Minnesota will need to re-invest at corner, yet again. It's crazy how that's the case every year no matter what. Baffling as that is, had to move forward. The best corner available comes from the teams backyard and has some similarities to Cam Dantzler. So while inside CB may be a higher need, the depth gets a little better with Ben St. Juste, Minnesota.

With a pair of DEs and WRs at the top of the board, either of those groups could have been amplified. Adding someone to compete for WR3 needs to happen but with the interior of both lines yet to be addressed it felt necessary to reach at 134. Didn't have to reach far though. As a possible 3-technique of the future, Jaylen Twyman - Pittsburgh.

Nine down the board, the Alabama Tiger, Seth Williams, is still on the board and the road to success for Olabisi gets that much tougher. "Bisi" has had his chances and hasn't done much with them so now he'll have to show he can step up or he'll be elsewhere soon.

Fans would be blowing up at this point if the draft actually laid out that way. Unfortunately, interior OL still had not meshed with the picks that the Purple possess. The highest one at that point is some 27 picks down. Hope is not a strategy but I thought maybe that would be enough of a gap for him to survive til the next pick.

Instead I went back to the DB pool at 158, Ambry Thomas - Michigan.

The gamble quickly turned into a bust as the predictive software threw the next best two IOL to teams between the picks. With it the simulation became untenable but I chose to finish instead of just quitting. In a bit of a salvage move I added Tulane's Patrick Johnson. He played all over the front seven and would be an intriguing prospect for Andre Patterson to work with.

Then, at 201, the consideration of where a guy played in college was eliminated from consideration. Probably should have done it sooner, but that's why I'm on a computer doing a simulation and not getting paid millions to do the real thing. The adjustment to the approach landed Jaylon Moore from Western Michigan. He has the size to traditionally fit what teams want along the interior of their OLs.

With the second-to-last pick it felt necessary to add competition to KJ Osborn after a lefsa-flat season as the return man. The answer came from one state over, Cade Johnson - South Dakota State.

Then came 236. It would do nothing to quell people's irritation over the lack of invest at OL but with an eye to the future, I went with College Kirk - Sam Ehlinger, Texas.

There will always be detractors and there will always be players who surprise but suffice it to say that if the draft goes this way the complaints will reach a new level. If you give the simulator a whirl share your results!