Vikings Draft Needs - Late Round Gems?
Apr 25, 2023 12:41:27 GMT -6
Funkytown, Danchat, and 1 more like this
Post by Uncle on Apr 25, 2023 12:41:27 GMT -6
WR - Marvin Mims
I think that was the main reason why many people overlooked QB Russell Wilson in the 2012 Draft - the first trait that experts/teams/fans looked at with Wilson was his physical frame (or lack thereof) at just 5'10" and 205 lbs, but they failed to realize he succeeded at NC State and then lead Wisconsin to the Rose Bowl and then had a strong Senior Bowl week. While he didn't have the typical/desired NFL "frame" for a QB, he was a just a really good football player/QB and when Pete Carroll realized this in the 2012 Training Camp/preseason, they immediately switched gears from Matt Flynn/Tavaris Jackson to Russell Wilson as QB1, and even as a rookie drafted in Round 3, he guided the Seahawk's "Legion of Boom" era...
At first glance at Mims' profile, you'd think to yourself, "what do you mean? He's only played for Oklahoma...", and while that's true, his first two years he played under former Sooner HC Lincoln Riley, who had a more spread/up-tempo offensive system (that Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts succeeded in), so it's no wonder Mims looked good...
...but in 2022, Riley left Oklahoma for USC (and QB Caleb Williams followed), and the Sooners brought in Clemson DC Brent Venables who had a more defensive-minded/ball-control style of football. There were still elements of spread and up-tempo, but honestly, it was almost night-and-day different from what Lincoln Riley ran before...and Mims didn't have Spencer Rattler (2020) or Caleb Williams (2021) throwing to him in 2022; he had former UCF QB Dillon Gabriel, who isn't exactly a household name.
...and even in a more ball-control type of offense under Oklahoma HC Brent Venables and QB Dillon Gabriel, Mims excelled, which tells me - much like Russell Wilson and other players who succeed with different teams/systems - that he's a really good football player. Freshman All-American in Year 1 (2020), honorable mention All BIG XII in Year 2 (2021) and then 1st Team All BIG XII in Year 3 (2022) while in a different system w/ different QB throwing to him each year.
The one thing I question with Mims in terms of how he "fits" with the Vikings is that if you look at his physical frame (5'10", 183 lbs), his skillset (speedy burner w/ YAC ability and ST return experience), doens't that sound like another WR already on the Vikings roster - Jalen Nailor? Mims does have a bit more athletic background (5-star HS athlete vs Nailor who was a 3-star, and Mims has a higher RAS) and you could argue is a bit more of a "WR1 personality" (really loved his performance vs FSU this past season in the Cheez-It Bowl which showcased some of his abilities), but if you put the two side-by-side, they do have similar traits.
BTW, speaking of the aforementioned 2022 Cheez-It Bowl game between Oklahoma/FSU, Brugler's 2023 "Beast" guide profile on Mims does have a typo - it states "Mims elected to skip the 2022 bowl game and his senior season to enter the 2023 NFL Draft", when that's not true: he not only elected to play in it, but played well and that is another aspect of his competitive personality that bodes well for his football character/draftstock, IMO.