2013 DBN Mock Draft: Minnesota Vikings Select Bjoern Werner at No. 23

With the 23rd pick in the 2013 Dawgs By Nature NFL Community Mock Draft, the Minnesota Vikings select...

Bjoern Werner, DE, Florida State

This selection and write-up was made by Legoman0721:

Considering the strength of this draft and the 23rd-ranked defense of Minnesota, I almost immediately discarded any offensive options unless a quarterback somehow falls to them or they trade up to get one. Adrian Peterson covers up a lot of weaknesses that their offense has, and they just added Matt Kalil last year. Anyways, back to their defense. FBO says that the Vikings are bad at covering receivers, and the worst in the league at covering #2 receivers. With the way our draft shaped up, I didn't see good value in the secondary for them. How else do you defend against receivers, then? Easy: a pass rush.

I'm not going to over-think this pick. I read some recent stuff over at the Daily Norseman, and it seems that having a pass rusher of this caliber available this late in the draft is an early Christmas present for them. Werner projects very nicely into a 4-3 defense, he's had production, he has talent, and he seems to be ready to come right in and contribute. Like the authors at Daily Norseman, I don't expect him to last this long but if he does, he's a pick who I would run up to the podium for. Their defensive end situation is very shaky beyond this season, and their defensive line as a whole isn't all that young. Werner will initially play situational downs, but I think he'll be a starting defensive end by the end of the season and lock down that spot for several years.

Because the Vikings have two picks so close together, they are free to trade up if they find a good deal, trade down if they want to, take the best player available, or go after a specific guy that they love.

Side note: what is FBO? The Vikings will be on the clock in two more picks. Wouldn't it drive Minnesota nuts if they wanted two players while on the clock at No. 23, only for the Colts to sandwich in and take the other guy they wanted at No. 24 overall? I like addressing the defensive line -- a couple of years ago, they had a group that was among the best in football. That has evaporated, and it's time to upgrade.

The Indianapolis Colts are up next, led by Mike Krupka.

2013 DBN Community Mock Draft Results (so far)