Minnesota Vikings: Re-drafting the team’s last 6 first-round picks

2018, No. 30 Overall

Original Pick: Mike Hughes, CB, UCF
Re-draft Pick: Will Hernandez, G, UTEP (No. 34 Overall)

Believe me — I really wanted to go with Lamar Jackson here. That’s obviously based on the fact that he became a superstar and NFL MVP for the Baltimore Ravens in less than two seasons. But at the same time, there’s no way the Vikings would have spent a first-round pick on a quarterback less than two months after handing Kirk Cousins a fully guaranteed, $84 million contract.

So instead, I chose to shore up one of the biggest weaknesses for the Vikings — their front five.

This past season, Pat Elflein was a train wreck at left guard. He routinely got called for costly penalties, got beat far too often in pass protection and just didn’t look like a competent blocker. Adding Hernandez here (who I wanted them to draft at the time) makes far more sense as the left guard of the future.

Since landing with the New York Giants, Hernandez has quietly developed into one of the better young guards in the league. Although he’s nowhere near the star status of someone like Quenton Nelson, he’s proven himself to be a reliable starter with plus pass protection skills and solid abilities in the ground game.

I also considering going with Orlando Brown here, but the Vikings appear to have a quality young right tackle in Brian O’Neill. So why not fix the guard spot instead?