Vikings NFL Mock Draft Tracker 13.0: Dillon Thieneman continues to be the apple of Minnesota’s eye
It’s getting crazy how “certain” analysts are about what the Vikings will do.
Over the past 13 weeks, mock drafts have been really interesting for the Minnesota Vikings.
Leading into the NFL Scouting Combine, the Vikings were projected to take a cornerback the majority of the time. In fact, Clemson Tigers cornerback Avieon Terrell was sent to the Vikings 67 times. Since free agency began, the Vikings have only been sent Terrell five times.
What’s changed? Well, Oregon Ducks safety Dillon Thieneman took over the NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.35-second 40-yard dash, along with jumping out of the gym. He was only selected seven times before the end of the combine. That’s grown over 1,000% since then.
This week, one new player joins the selections and safety is still a priority.
Minnesota Vikings mock draft tracker 13.0
Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon
- Fox Sports’ Ben Arthur
- CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell
- The Oakland Post’s James Elling
- Fantasy Pros’ Matthew Jones
- Fantasy Life’s Matthew Freedman
- ESPN’s Field Yates
- A to Z Sports’ AJ Schulte
- Penn Live’s Johnny McGonigal
- Bears Wire’s Mike Pendleton
- NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks
- The McShay Report’s Todd McShay
- Touchdown Wire’s Alyssa Barbieri
- Pro Football Focus’ Jordan Plocher
- Athlon Sports’ Luke Easterling
- USA Today’s Jack McKessy
- CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards
- ESPN’s James Meche
- NFL.com’s Charles Davis
- Fantasy Pros’ Pat Fitzmaurice
- NFL.com’s Mike Band
“Fellow coworker and A to Z Sports Minnesota Vikings writer Tyler Forness will hate me for making this pick, but I think Thieneman is a special coverage talent with tremendous range, awareness, ball skills, and reaction timing. He would solidify Minnesota’s secondary deep.” – Schulte
Caleb Banks, DT, Florida
“Banks will be the first defensive tackle off the board. He has big size and game-wrecking potential.” – Sanudo
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo
“They need a young playmaking safety who has a lot of tools in the box. McNeil-Warren is that type of player. He might end up as the best safety in this class.” – Prisco
Akheem Mesidor, EDGE, Miami FL
“Defensive coordinator Brian Flores gets a physical player who can set the edge as well as get to the quarterback (12.5 sacks last season).” – Tafur
Chris Johnson, CB, San Diego State
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
“When the time comes, we don’t expect Jeremiyah Love to last this long. He’s the only running back good enough to go in the first two rounds and some team is going to trade up to get him. It could be the Minnesota Vikings. If the round plays out like this, there’s no way the Vikings pass up on Love, who fills their biggest roster need on offense.” – Popejoy
Peter Woods, DT, Clemson
“After cutting both Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, they have a dire need at defensive tackle. They won’t force it, as they showed in 2024 when they made edge rusher the main focus. Woods was a projected top-five pick going into the season, and his struggles throughout that and the NFL Draft process. This could be a major steal for the Vikings.” – Forness
Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee
- USA Today’s Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz
- The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Devin Jackson
- Pro Football Network’s Ian Cummings
“A spotty track record of drafting cornerbacks has made Minnesota’s secondary something for Brian Flores to overcome rather than unleash. McCoy has plenty to prove at his March 31 pro day after missing all of last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and then sitting out combine workouts, but he could solidify the Vikings’ outlook on the exterior and create additional opportunities for Flores to vex the division’s high-powered offenses.” – Middlehurst-Schwartz
Overview
Through 13 weeks, we’ve seen 348 mock drafts, and 33 of them this past week. The mock drafts are getting more and more focused on the safety position. Should they end up taking a safety, the mock drafts would have been right over the last few weeks. It’s also the first week where cornerback Avieon Terrell wasn’t selected in at least one mock draft.
Here are the results from the last 13 weeks.
| Player | Selections |
| S Dillon Thieneman | 92 |
| CB Avieon Terrell | 72 |
| S Emmanuel McNeil-Warren | 45 |
| CB Jermod McCoy | 21 |
| DT Kayden McDonald | 18 |
| DT Caleb Banks | 15 |
| DT Peter Woods | 15 |
| CB Mansoor Delane | 14 |
| RB Jeremiyah Love | 11 |
| CB Colton Hood | 10 |
| CB Brandon Cisse | 6 |
| WR Denzel Boston | 5 |
| TE Kenyon Sadiq | 4 |
| LB C.J. Allen | 4 |
| OG Olaivavega Ioane | 3 |
| DT A’Mauri Washington | 2 |
| WR Makai Lemon | 2 |
| CB Chris Johnson | 2 |
| WR Carnell Tate | 1 |
| WR Jordyn Tyson | 1 |
| EDGE Keldric Faulk | 1 |
| OT Kadyn Proctor | 1 |
| EDGE T.J. Parker | 1 |
| EDGE Akheem Mesidor | 1 |
| QB Ty Simpson | 1 |
| Total | 348 |
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