With the 23rd pick in the POD Community Mock draft, the Vikings select…
The Minnesota Vikings are up again in the Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft after selecting Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the 11th overall pick. Minnesota acquired the 23rd pick earlier this offseason in a trade with the Houston Texans in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick, among other compensation.
Most projections believe the Vikings will package both of their first-round picks to jump into the top 10 and select a quarterback, but with no trades allowed in this mock draft, the Vikings were able to still land McCarthy at 11.
So in this unlikely scenario, what would the Vikings do with the extra first-round pick? We tasked POD commenter Jftripp with this exercise. But before we get into the pick, check out our 2024 POD Community Mock Draft tracker to see the previous 22 picks.
With the 23rd pick in the POD Community Mock Draft, the Viking have selected Jaylen Wright, running back out of Tennessee.
“The Vikings seem to have decided to ‘moneyball’ their defensive line, and although they have a gaping hole at left guard, the first-round worthy OG talent is off the board at this point. So, they resort to trying to emulate the Lions. The NFL is a copycat league, and this move proves it. Last season, the Lions snatched an experienced running back from a division rival (David Montgomery), and then picked up a ‘reach’ running back (according to the media) with Jahmyr Gibbs at #12. This year, the Vikings snatched Aaron Jones from the Packers and now get their Gibbs at #23. This move likely brings out the same kinds of negative media takes.
“But Wright is bigger and more explosive than Gibbs (9.75 RAS score vs. Gibbs’ (incomplete) 8.01 ), and he’s been steadily moving up draft boards. Although he’s 11 pounds heavier than Gibbs, he ran an equivalent 40 (4.38 vs. 4.36), completely outclassed Gibbs in the vertical (38 vs. 33.5), and averaged over a yard more per carry in college than Gibbs did at Alabama in his junior year (7.4 vs. 6.1 – Gibbs’ best year in college). He can break tackles and then still run away from the secondary. See this…
Jaylen Wright
4.38 40
1st in class in +10 yard run %Reminds me of Achane and Gibbs from the break away speed perspective.
The common theme since 2018 is we see RBs with breakaway speed like JT, KW3 and Achane come into league and hit ground running.
pic.twitter.com/6USFuImL2c— Elite Drafters (@Elite_Drafters) April 6, 2024
And doesn’t this look a little bit like Gibbs?
Tennessee RB Jaylen Wright pressing and popping. He naturally presses the LOS and has the burst and agility to pop outside or to another gap and reduce angles pic.twitter.com/xe6f5LREdn
— Daniel Harms (@InHarmsWay19) April 4, 2024
and this…
Tennessee RB Jaylen Wright could rush for 1,000 yards as a rookie. Love his vision, short areas quickness, and leg churn that helps him earn extra yards pic.twitter.com/KbdJdG2QxR
— Joe DeLeone (@joedeleone) April 2, 2024
“He’s not the route-runner that Gibbs is, but the Vikings rushing offense fell apart last year after the departure of Dalvin Cook and the injury to Alexander Mattison. Mattison is now a Raider, and Ty Chandler didn’t seem able to fill the primary back duties.
“In a way, Wright is an amalgam of Montgomery and Gibbs, slightly less powerful than Montgomery, and less of a passing threat than Gibbs, but with Aaron Jones’ injury history, the Vikings need a second NFL-caliber running back in their backfield. With Jones and Wright, they would have the second-best backfield in the division, nicely pairing with their second-best offensive line.”