2021 NFL Mock Draft, post-free agency: Browns land Micah Parsons, Falcons shock with Kyle Pitts

The Minnesota Vikings moved on from Everson Griffen in 2020 and they ended up landing Yannick Ngakoue in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ngakoue was a good player for the Vikings, but they traded him to the Ravens when it became apparent their season wasn’t going to end as planned — and their salary cap situation made it nearly impossible to retain him in the coming offseason.

Now, the Vikings find themselves still needing to improve on the defensive line and that’s what they do by taking Kwity Paye out of Michigan. Paye, listed at 6-foot-4 and 272-pounds, boasts a powerful frame and was really coming into his own in 2019 for Michigan.

That season, he had 50 tackles with 12.5 going for a loss. He also had a career-high 6.5 sacks as he began to put all the tools he has together. Unfortunately, he was able to play in just four games this past season due to the shortened Big Ten season. Even with that being the case, he’s still one of the top defensive ends in the draft.

Minnesota could also elect to improve their offensive line, which was a big need even before releasing Riley Reiff, but the value here is simply too much to pass up.