He presents another option for the Vikings on the offensive line"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Vikings 2018 SeasonVikings 2019 OffseasonU.S. Bank StadiumMinnesota Vikings PodcastsMinnesota Vikings Free Agency 2019Nick Easton will be medically cleared soonNew Marcus Epps Jersey nfl draft ,72commentsHe presents another option for the Vikings on the offensive lineCSTShareTweetShareShareNick Easton will be medically cleared soonTimothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY SportsWe know that the Minnesota Vikings are going to be looking for options along the offensive line once free agency starts in a couple of weeks, and there are reports that a potential option is going to be medically cleared to play again.Andrew Krammer of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that guard Nick Easton, who missed all of last season with a back injury, has taken another trip out to his doctor, and the expectation is that he is going to be medically cleared to resume playing football again.Easton was acquired by the Vikings in 2015 (along with a sixth-round draft choice) from the San Francisco 49ers for linebacker Gerald Hodges. He was set to be a restricted free agent last season, but the Vikings placed a second-round tender on him, giving him a salary of around $2.9 million. Easton then injured his back during the preseason and wound up being placed on injured reserve.Easton was set to start at left guard for the Vikings again last season prior to his injury, and his absence threw things into flux once again. I¡¯m not sure how much he¡¯s going to be able to demand on the open market, given the fact that he is coming off of surgery, but it wouldn¡¯t be surprising to see the Vikings bring him back on a fairly cheap deal to compete for a spot once again. The Vikings obviously liked him before, but that was under a different group of coaches.I definitely wouldn¡¯t be against the Vikings bringing Easton back, but they certainly can¡¯t rely on him as they were in 2018. We¡¯ll have to see if the team feels as strongly about him now as they did at this time about a year ago. Because it¡¯s that time again"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Vikings 2018 SeasonVikings 2019 OffseasonU.S. Bank StadiumMinnesota Vikings PodcastsMinnesota Vikings 2019 NFL DraftChris¡¯ Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft v7.0: A View to a MockNew,140commentsBecause it¡¯s that time againCDTShareTweetShareShareChris¡¯ Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft v7.0: A View to a MockSince it¡¯s that time of the week. . .and, frankly, because I¡¯ve got some time to kill before Wrestlemania gets underway (hey, there, Cageside Seats). . .let¡¯s do us another mock draft that will in no way, shape, or form reflect what¡¯s going to actually happen for the Minnesota Vikings in the 2019 NFL Draft but gives us something potentially interesting to talk about anyway.If you¡¯d like to see my previous installments in this series, here they are.Mock #1 - ThundermockMock #2 - You Only Mock TwiceMock #3 - MockrakerMock #4 - Mocktor NoMock #5 - The Man With the Golden MockMock #6 - License to MockThis means that we¡¯ll once again be firing up the FanSpeak On the Clock Mock Draft Simulator. Here are the parameters that I¡¯ll be using for this week¡¯s simulation.Big Board - CBS Sports Aggregate (updated 4 April)Computer using random big boardsClassic difficultyFanSpeak team needs (G, OT, EDGE, WR, TE Youth Marcus Epps Jersey , C, CB, RB, S)As always, these are the picks that we start out with in our role as Virtual Rick Spielman:With that, we are underway!We get no trade offers before the first round gets underway, nor do we receive any when it comes time for Pick #18, so here¡¯s our first look at the board:Three offensive linemen have gone off the board in the first 17 picks: Jonah Williams to the Jets at ,3# Cody Ford to the Panthers at #16, and Jawaan Taylor to the Giants at #17.I¡¯m really torn between three players in this scenario. I¡¯ve expressed my affinity for T.J. Hockenson in this space before, because I think he¡¯d make an immediate impact in the offense and serve as a replacement for Kyle Rudolph, who is in the final year of his deal. Andre Dillard is a plug-and-play left tackle and probably the best pass blocker in this class, but it would likely mean moving Riley Reiff inside to guard, which I¡¯m not a huge fan of. Garrett Bradbury might be the best fit for what the Vikings want to do on the offensive line, but is selecting him a better idea than selecting Dillard?I¡¯m going to kick myself for this, I think, but it looks like it¡¯s the best move for the team in the long term.Round 1, Pick 18 - Andre Dillard, OT, Washington StateDillard is a fantastic athlete, and pairing him with Brian O¡¯Neill would give the Vikings one of the most athletic tackle duos in the league. I think we can address the interior of the offensive line down the track, but with this pick the starting offensive line would, presumably, look like this from left to right:Andre Dillard - Riley Reiff - Pat Elflein - Josh Kline - Brian O¡¯NeillIt¡¯s not Murderer¡¯s Row or anything Womens Marcus Epps Jersey , but it¡¯s a start. I mean, maybe Reiff will be better at guard than I think he¡¯s going to be. . .which, admittedly, isn¡¯t setting the bar very high, but there you go.We move on to Round 2, and there are again no trade offers sent my way before the round kicks off. I do get a couple of offers when pick #50 comes up, and here¡¯s what they look like:I¡¯m not terribly interested in trading all the way out of Round 2, so I¡¯m going to give both of these a pass.Here¡¯s what the board looks like now that we¡¯re up again:I almost managed to get two of the three players that I was debating in Round 1, but the Dolphins snagged Bradbury with pick #48. Frowny. So, let¡¯s try to help the offense in another way instead.Round 2, Pick 50 - N¡¯Keal Harry, WR, Arizona StateIn past mocks, I¡¯ve emphasized my desire for the Vikings to get a bigger ¡°outside¡± type of receiver because of the ability that both Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen have in the slot. Harry is just that sort of receiver, coming in at 6¡¯3¡± and close to 230 pounds. He¡¯s not necessarily a deep burner or anything, but he may be the best contested catch receiver in this year¡¯s class and could immediately step in as WR3. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any chance he¡¯s available at #50, but he is here, so we¡¯ll take him.Once again, as we start Round 3, there are no trade proposals sent my way before the round begins. No proposals come in when Pick #81 comes around, either, so let¡¯s see what¡¯s out there.The offensive linemen were flying off the board in Round 3, as picks 74, 75 Ameer Abdullah Jersey , 76, 77, and 78 all went to offensive linemen for their respective teams. There are a lot of offensive skill position players out there, but that¡¯s not really the direction to take now, I don¡¯t think. I spent most of the regular season saying that the Vikings probably needed to spend two of their first three picks in this draft on the offensive line, and with the way the board has fallen, I think that¡¯s where I¡¯m heading.Round 3, Pick 81 - Elgton Jenkins, C, Mississippi StateWith this pick, we¡¯ve now addressed both the interior offensive line as well as the tackle position. Jenkins is the sort of player that can provide versatility along the interior, as he could play either guard spot or center. He would also provide insurance in the event that Pat Elflein¡¯s struggles in 2018 weren¡¯t simply a result of his injuries from the previous year. Jenkins is a versatile, athletic player that I think fits what the Vikings want to do on the offensive line going forward.Now that I think I¡¯ve filled the screaming offensive line need, we¡¯re probably going to do a lot of ¡°best player available¡± going forward while still trying to fit into the team needs as best we can. Heading into ¡°Day 3¡± of this simulation, we¡¯ve still got five picks, so we can maybe take some chances on a few guys.No trade offers come in for our fourth round pick before the festivities get underway, and none come in as we hit the board again, which means this is going to be our last selection until late in the sixth round. . .and this could end up being a no-trade mock whether I want it to or not. In any case, here¡¯s the board as we get to pick #120:I¡¯ve dedicated the entire first two days of our draft to offense, so I want to shift focus to the defensive side of the ball. Also, with questions surrounding Mike Hughes and Holton Hill being suspended for the first four games of 2019, you know that Virtual Mike Zimmer wants to scratch the cornerback itch here, so let¡¯s have at it.Round 4, Pick 120 - Jamel Dean Danielle Hunter Jersey , CB, AuburnDean is the sort of big, outside corner that Zimmer would love to get to Minnesota. He¡¯s been knocked for being a little stiff, but he should be able to fit in with the sort of schemes the Vikings want to run in the secondary. In the event that injuries hit the secondary again, or that the Vikings feel they want to trade a corner at some point, Dean would be someone that should be able to help out early on.Now, we sit back, grab a beverage, and wait for the rest of the fourth round and the entire fifth round to go by before we get a chance to pick again.As we finally get to our selection in Round 6, here¡¯s what we¡¯re looking at:BPA? BPA.Round 6, Pick 190 - John Cominsky, DE, University of CharlestonCominsky got to Charleston as a quarterback and weighed in at around 200 pounds. During his time in college, he moved over to defensive end and managed to pack on. . .get this. . .eighty-five pounds. And he managed to run a sub-4.7 40-yard dash. That makes him the sort of ridiculously athletic edge player that they like to take and mold into a refined defensive lineman, and I think that Andre Patterson would love to have him. It might take a bit for him to adjust to the level of competition, but once he does, he could be dangerous.Now, on to our second sixth-round selection, and a new look at the board:Man, there¡¯s no one I¡¯m enamored with here. None of the running backs are particularly appealing, so I may wait until the seventh. For now, I¡¯m going to go off the board and get a developmental quarterback, even though it¡¯s not explicitly expressed as a need.Round 6, Pick 209 (Compensatory) - Brett Rypien Linval Joseph Jersey , QB, Boise StateI¡¯ve said this on several occasions, but I think that the Vikings should stop messing around with ¡°veteran¡± backups for Kirk Cousins and just give Kyle Sloter the #2 spot. They¡¯d need a #3 guy, though, and Rypien could be that for this team. He¡¯s probably not going to be a long-term starter in the NFL or anything, but could certainly have a decent career as a backup that won¡¯t get your team killed if you need to rely on him for a week or two.On to the final round, and our last two Compensatory picks. Here¡¯s one last look at the board as we get to the last two selections:Round 7, Pick 247 (Compensatory) - Donald Parham, TE, StetsonYeah, it¡¯s another small school guy, but there are worse players to roll the dice with than a tight end that¡¯s 6¡¯8¡± and could end up being a receiver at the NFL level.Round 7, Pick 250 (Compensatory) - Bruce Anderson, RB, North Dakota StateI¡¯m guessing that they could probably get Anderson as a UDFA, but there¡¯s nobody else on the board that really excites me, so hey. . .one of us, right?That¡¯s my seventh mock draft, and one that went down without any trades. I was only even offered a couple of trades, and I think the drop for either of them would have been too much to be acceptable.Here¡¯s my full eight-player draft class for this sim.If you¡¯d like to see how the entire scenario played out, you can take a look at it at this link here.What do you think, folks?