Senior Bowl - Players To Watch

Bo Nix, QB, Oregon

<we talk enough about quarterbacks>

Quinyon Mitchell, CB, Toledo
The Vikings will have more eyes on the cornerbacks in the Senior Bowl than most, especially with Jones and Hutchings both working with players on the field at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

Among the corners, Mitchell might have the highest upside of them all. Brugler ranked him 35th in his top 50 draft prospects in November. The Toledo cornerback stands 6 feet, weighs 195 pounds and is comfortable operating on an island.

Minnesota needs cornerbacks. Mekhi Blackmon played admirably throughout the year, particularly while navigating a lingering shoulder injury. Akayleb Evans showed flashes but tailed off down the stretch. Still, the Vikings drafted Andrew Booth Jr. two years ago with the hope that he could be a starting-level option on the outside. But the Vikings still don’t have one. They’ll be looking for one this week, and Mitchell will be in their crosshairs.

Marshawn Kneeland, DL, Western Michigan
If it weren’t for the Vikings’ uncertainty at quarterback, their needs on the defensive line would dominate the conversation. Even if Minnesota extends Danielle Hunter or re-signs D.J. Wonnum, the team desperately needs impactful youth on the front.

The 2024 draft class of edge rushers is widely considered underwhelming. Alabama’s Dallas Turner, UCLA’s Laiatu Latu and Florida State’s Jared Verse will vie to be the first selected at the position. One of the hidden gems, though, could be Kneeland, who Brugler said, “had one of the most dominant tapes of any pass rusher in this class.”

Kneeland’s raw statistics don’t stand out. He only recorded 4.5 sacks this season. His pressure rate in 2023 (13.7 percent), however, was well above average (9.3 percent), according to TruMedia. Facing off against a vaunted group of tackles at the Senior Bowl should allow Kneeland to prove he is, as Brugler describes him, “long and powerful.” No matter where Kneeland fits in, be it on the edge or as a traditional defensive end, his skill set as a pass rusher would add a dimension Minnesota has not had.

Sione Vaki, S, Utah
Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores is always in pursuit of versatile players with a high football IQ. Think, for a second, about how Flores used Josh Metellus this season. Metellus not only had the bandwidth to familiarize himself with multiple defensive positions, but his body type also allowed him to hold up at safety, linebacker and against wide receivers in the slot.

Positionless players don’t grow on trees, but Vaki might be one of them. Most see Vaki as a top-100 talent, but Brugler thinks he could slide. “He’ll fly around,” Brugler wrote, “but (there are) wasted steps. Not sure what he is seeing all the time.”

The Vikings should get a look this week at why Vaki’s tape looks the way it does — and if those drawbacks can be eliminated.

Spencer Rattler, QB, South Carolina

<see above:)>

Minnesota Vikings staffers positioned themselves on all corners of the field. This was Wednesday morning at the Senior Bowl at a practice featuring the event’s premier quarterbacks. Head coach Kevin O’Connell stood on the sideline alongside general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Posted up next to them was Ryan Grigson, the team’s senior VP of player personnel.

On the opposite sideline, Vikings assistant quarterbacks coach Grant Udinski’s head swiveled back and forth, watching a pass thrown by Oregon’s Bo Nix, then a ball hurled by Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.

The team’s presence here makes sense. A pivotal draft is on the horizon, beginning with the team’s first-round selection at No. 11. The Vikings don’t have much room for error. Team executives know this. The coaching staff is aware, too.

So why not do as much detailed scouting as possible? Why not watch the way the ball spins off the quarterback’s fingertips? Why not identify the way a premium cornerback responds to getting burned against elite competition?

The Vikings staff has not been just confined to the sideline, either. Defensive pass game coordinator Daronte Jones, assistant defensive cornerbacks coach Michael Hutchings and defensive assistant Imarjaye Albury are all coaching the Senior Bowl players. There’s value in the opportunity from a personal growth and networking perspective. But there’s also a benefit for the Vikings as they sift through potential draftees.

“Oh, yeah,” Jones said when asked about this advantage. “You get to spend quality time with (these players). You get to see them in meetings, up close on the field, in the cafeteria. And it’s not as stressful a situation.”

Both at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine, teams invite players in for interviews. The question-and-answer formats can vary in their depth, depending on the player’s position and the team. Often, though, players’ responses are canned and rehearsed. Real insights are harder to uncover.

That’s where Jones, Hutchings and Albury can fill in the gaps.

Last year, this experience benefitted the NFC North-rival Chicago Bears. Luke Getsy coordinated one of the team’s offenses at the Senior Bowl, and the Bears ultimately selected tackle Darnell Wright in the first round.

One player of serious interest this year is cornerback Quinyon Mitchell, who shared Wednesday that he had met with the Vikings. The University of Toledo product played in 39 games over the last three years and in 2023 was Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded cornerback among 200 qualified CBs.

Mitchell arrived in Mobile as a hot name. Dane Brugler, The Athletic’s draft expert, ranked him 35th on his top 50 big board, writing then that Mitchell has “verified 4.3 speed, and those numbers translate well to the football field.” Mitchell has shattered expectations this week, becoming arguably the most impressive defender on the field.

Aligned frequently in press-man coverage, Mitchell start-stopped his way down the field Wednesday with shifty Michigan receiver Roman Wilson. Mitchell blanketed him, and Jones was monitoring all of it. At Toledo, Mitchell played a meaningful amount of man coverage. As Brugler has written, Toledo coaches were not scared to leave Mitchell on an island — he tallied 37 career passes defended.

Additionally, Mitchell played match coverage, which starts as zone and turns into man, depending on the route the receiver runs. This responsibility requires a seamless application of rule memorization to on-field application. Most NFL teams, including the Vikings, ask for this depth of understanding from their cornerbacks.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores utilizes “hot coverage,” which mandates corners maintain eye position on the quarterback and react swiftly once the ball is snapped. Vikings cornerbacks Byron Murphy Jr., Akayleb Evans and Mekhi Blackmon successfully navigated this complexity at times during the 2023 season. Murphy and Blackmon, though, are better suited for slot responsibility, while Evans’ inconsistency during the back half of the season leaves some uncertainty surrounding his long-term viability on the outside.

That’s where a player of Mitchell’s caliber could fit in. That is if the Vikings don’t opt to jump up for a quarterback or add to their defensive front. Free agency and draft circumstances will likely affect the Vikings’ path, but they’re doing their due diligence in the meantime.

Mitchell even praised Jones’ and Hutchings’ teaching from their two days together.

“They’ve been really good,” Mitchell said Wednesday. “Really technical, but they’re getting us right.”