In his latest mock draft, NFL Media's Daniel Jeremiah has Mississippi wideout Laquon Treadwell pegged to Minnesota with the No. 23 overall pick, a match that makes plenty of sense for the Vikings.
If he agrees, general manager Rick Spielman wouldn't admit as much on Tuesday, telling reporters: "We are not honed in on a receiver in the first round."
Minnesota certainly has a need at the position considering the depth chart: While Stefon Diggs was a revelation for much of his rookie campaign, Cordarrelle Patterson remains a comprehensive enigma. Charles Johnson has enjoyed his moments, but the wideout room -- which also includes Jarius Wright, Adam Thielen, Isaac Fruechte and Terrell Sinkfield -- lacks a bona fide No. 1 target.
Spielman, though pointed to Diggs -- a fifth-rounder in last year's draft -- as an example of padding the position without passing on the best player available in Round 1.
"Like I said, we spend a lot of time at all these positions, but I do think there's a lot of quality at that position as you go down through it," Spielman said. "There's different styles, different types, small ones, tall ones. I've mentioned earlier, we don't look so much at the height, per se, as the catching radius. There's fast guys, there's possession guys, so there's a lot of different flavors."
Spielman also defended the team's existing wideouts, saying: "I also don't want to discount our current receivers that we have on this roster. I mean, Charles Johnson did a great job two years ago (before last year's injuries). ... Cordarrelle Patterson has worked extremely hard this offseason, and I know everybody's excited to see him when we get out on the field here in a couple weeks. Adam Thielen's a great third, fourth type that fills in and plays on special teams and Jarius Wright is very comparable in the slot."
All of these players are relatively young, leaving Spielman to argue that he wanted the group to grow alongside third-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Still, the Vikings could use another playmaker, and no matter what the team says during the height of "lying season," we expect Minnesota to add helping hands in the draft -- maybe even at No. 23.
