Linval needs a friend"In all the fun and excitement

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leading up to draft night tonight http://www.thevikingslockerroom.com/authentic-randy-moss-jersey , I damn near forgot to complete the list of the Minnesota Vikings’ Top 5 draft needs that I had been working on. So far, we’ve looked at running backs, cornerbacks, and tight ends, but now we come to a spot where there’s a pretty serious hole, all things considered.While the Vikings seem to have an endless supply of talented edge players, the same (at least at this point) can’t be said for the interior. Sure, Linval Joseph is great, but the loss of Sheldon Richardson is one that’s definitely going to be felt unless the Vikings make a move to fill that spot. Let’s take a look at what the defensive tackle position looks like for the Vikings right now and what they could do over the course of Draft Weekend.Current Vikings defensive tackles: Linval Joseph (starter), Shamar Stephen (starter), Curtis Cothran Womens Ameer Abdullah Jersey , Jalyn Holmes, Jaleel Johnson, Ifeadi Odenigbo (I’m going to put him at tackle)Joseph remains one of the best nose tackles in the league, but if the season were to start today we’d likely see Stephen getting the start at the 3-tech spot, and that really isn’t super ideal, I don’t think. I always thought Stephen was much better against the run than he was in trying to generate pressure, but maybe the Vikings are seeing something I’m not.Holmes didn’t see a lot of action in his rookie season, but I still think he’s a better fit on the interior than he is on the edge. It seems like Jaleel Johnson spends the preseason destroying guys on the second team offensive lines of our preseason opponents, but to date that really hasn’t translated to the regular season. I’m actually pretty high on Odenigbo, and thought he should have made the team out of camp last season, but I’m happy he’s back and think he’s going to stick this time around. Cothran is probably headed for the practice squad again if the Vikings want to keep him around.Who could they take and when. Since I don’t think Ed Oliver or Quinnen Williams is falling to #18 Marcus Epps Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , the guy the Vikings might be eyeing if they want to use their first round pick at the position is Christian Wilkins out of Clemson. Wilkins reminds me a bit of Kevin Williams, since he’s got pretty decent agility for a guy that weighs in at 315 pounds. Providing that the Vikings immediately address the offensive line in Round 2, I wouldn’t hate a pick of Wilkins at #18, I don’t think.There are plenty of options if the Vikings want to wait until Day 2 as well. I don’t think the Vikings would be in on Mississippi State tackle Jeffrey Simmons or anything, given his injury and questions about whether or not he’ll be ready for the start of the season. Miami (FL) tackle Gerald Willis seems to be a popular player in the second or third round, as is Dre’Mont Jones of Ohio State. Khalen Saunders of Western Illinois could be a potential target, but he strikes me as more of a nose tackle than a 3-technique. It would be interesting to see what Andre Patterson could mold him into, though.I think the Vikings will address the defensive tackle spot at some point in the first two days of the draft, but if they want to wait until Day 3 there’s still some intriguing players out there. Kingsley Keke of Texas A&M is someone that’s shown some pass rush ability on the inside, as is Terry Beckner out of Missouri. Beckner comes with some pretty significant medical concerns, though Minnesota Vikings Jerseys 2019 , as he’s tore the ACLs in both of his knees during his college career.Obviously, there are significantly more players to keep an eye on for the Vikings than the ones I’ve just mentioned, but those are a few that I’ll be watching for when the Vikings want to address the defensive tackle spot in this year’s NFL Draft. MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings have been built around a stifling defense since Mike Zimmer was hired as head coach.That foundation has developed a frightening amount of cracks, one-fourth of the way through Zimmer’s fifth season. The Vikings allowed 456 passing yards in their 38-31 loss in Los Angeles to the Rams on Thursday night, the highest total against them since 1980.More Vikings coveragePhotos of the Week: 7/21/19 – 7/27/19Rookie Bradbury is central figure to Vikings’ overhauled offensive lineVikings depth at cornerback being tested, Hughes still not clearedPlayers to watch at Minnesota Vikings 2019 training campTop Tweets: Vikings WR Diggs makes push for All-NFL Style TeamZimmer said afterward he’s never been a part of pass defense so poor in his career, which includes successful stretches as an innovative defensive coordinator with Cincinnati and Dallas. The following afternoon, Zimmer wasn’t in any better of a mood when he was asked to assess the coverage breakdowns that led to five touchdown passes by Jared Goff.“It was guys getting out of position. There was some misdirection plays. It was similar to what we’ve gotten before,” Zimmer said on a conference call with reporters on Friday. “Some of it was corners, some of it was safeties, some of it was linebackers Trae Waynes Jersey , some of it was nickels, some of it was me.”You?“I might be over-coaching them some,” Zimmer said.The good news is the Vikings have three extra days to recover from the Rams game and prepare for their trip to Philadelphia. The bad news is that next game is against the Super Bowl champion Eagles, who were last seen by the Vikings in that 38-7 blowout in the NFC championship game. As dominant as Zimmer’s defenses have been, certain teams with versatile and creative passing attacks have been able to exploit them. The Eagles last season and the Rams this year are two glaring examples.Zimmer stopped short of blaming his system for the problems against the Rams, noting the 24-7 victory by the Vikings in Minnesota last season, but the most devastating plays against them on Thursday night were the result of mismatches that Rams head coach Sean McVay helped create with either pre-snap confusion or clever play-calling.Vikings outside linebacker Anthony Barr wound up in coverage on three of the five touchdown passes, to running back Todd Gurley , wide receiver Cooper Kupp and wide receiver Robert Woods .“They had a good game plan against us,” defensive end Danielle Hunter said. “We made more mistakes than they did, and then they ended up on top.”The Vikings only allowed 300-plus passing yards in six games over Zimmer’s first four seasons Eric Kendricks Jersey , let alone 400-plus, with a previous high of 383 passing yards at Miami in 2014. Even the 2013 team that finished next-to-last in the league in passing defense didn’t yield a 400-yard game.With the arrival of a new quarterback and offensive coordinator, Zimmer said, he figured the Vikings (1-2-1) could start slowly the season. They were 2-2 at the first-quarter mark last year, before finishing 13-3. So all is not lost, but this once-daunting defense has a lot of work to do.“This team has a chance to be really, really good. One week it’s the offense. One week it’s the defense. One week it’s the special teams,” Zimmer said. “If we put it all together, we can beat any team there is.”