2019 NFL Mock Draft: Kyler Murray climbs in Post-combine two-round projection
By Randy Gurzi
18. Minnesota Vikings: Yodny Cajuste, OT, West Virginia
In 2017, Riley Reiff was signed by the Minnesota Vikings on a five-year, $58.75 million deal. So far, he’s underperformed according to that deal and the team could be willing to move on from him in the near future. In order to do so, they will need another option which leads to them selecting West Virginia’s Yodny Cajuste here. While Cajuste has a lot of upside, he’s still a work in progress, as stated by Lance Zierlein of NFL.com
"“Well-built with physical ability to stay in front of NFL pass rushers if he continues to refine his pass sets and improve his hand usage. Cajuste has the traits and talent but doesn’t play as “bendy” in his lower body as expected, which causes inconsistencies with balance in both the run and pass game. He might end up being more of a positional and stalemate blocker than drive blocker in the run game so he will need to shine in pass pro, which will take work. He has starting tackle talent with the body type for consideration inside.” — Zierlein, NFL.com"
Even with the knocks on him, there’s plenty of good film on Cajuste and he can be brought in to push Reiff. Should that raise the play of their current left tackle, Cajuste could slide inside as Zierlein suggests — which is another area of concern for Minnesota.