The Minnesota Vikings missed the playoffs in 2020 despite having the hands-down best fantasy football rookie with Justin Jefferson. It goes to show that fantasy football isn’t real life. That explains why the Minnesota Vikings drafted guys who are unlikely to help in your 2021 fantasy football leagues, but who are likely to help out the Vikings’ chances of making the playoffs sometime soon. What should we expect from Kellen Mond, Kene Nwangwu, Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Zach Davidson for 2021 fantasy football?
FULL MINNESOTA VIKINGS DRAFT RESULTS
| Rd | Pick | Player | Pos. | College |
| 1 | 23 | Christian Darrisaw | OT | Virginia Tech |
| 3 | 66 | Kellen Mond | QB | Texas A&M |
| 3 | 78 | Chazz Surratt | LB | North Carolina |
| 3 | 86 | Wyatt Davis | OG | Ohio State |
| 3 | 90 | Patrick Jones II | DE | Pittsburgh |
| 4 | 119 | Kene Nwangwu | RB | Iowa State |
| 4 | 125 | Camryn Bynum | CB | California |
| 4 | 134 | Janarius Robinson | DE | Florida State |
| 5 | 157 | Ihmir Smith-Marsette | WR | Iowa |
| 5 | 168 | Zach Davidson | TE | Central Missouri |
| 6 | 199 | Jaylen Twyman | DT | Pittsburgh |
Round 3, Pick 66 Overall: Kellen Mond, Quarterback, Texas A&M (6’2” 205 pounds)
Depth Chart:
QB1: Kirk Cousins
QB2: Kellen Mond
QB3: Nate Stanley
TALENT
If you task Mond with figuring out where to go with a football on a given play, you’re going to have a bad time. However, if you tell him to take a split second and throw to a spot, you might find some results. He looked like a disaster against LSU while trying to do real quarterback things, but the A&M coaching staff just had him grip it and rip it against Alabama, to much better results. Mond’s ball frequently has receivers sitting and waiting for it to arrive like he’s trying to perfect the NFL eephus pitch.
He has almost no touch, and no accuracy, as his body flies open on every throw. That having been said, he’s very athletic and uses that athleticism to get him out of trouble quite frequently. Mond also uses that athleticism as an excuse to not stay in the pocket late in the down to find a good pass option. Here’s the long and the short of it: Kellen Mond is a less athletic Colin Kaepernick with a much weaker arm than you would expect from that comparison.
2021 OPPORTUNITY
Ideally, the Minnesota Vikings let Kellen Mond percolate for a season behind Kirk Cousins. Captain Kirk isn’t going anywhere, as he’s a perfectly cromulent quarterback, and it takes a QB losing the starting gig to get the backup a shot; I just don’t see that happening for Mond. The literal best-case scenario for Kellen Mond is Cousins pulling an Alex Smith and getting concussed halfway through the season, allowing for Mond to rise to prominence. Other than that. I’m not sure how he gets onto the football field enough to matter.
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
If Kellen Mond hits the field, he’s likely going to end up turning in a lot of Nick Mullens-esque games, as his processing reminds me a lot of Mullens. If he can grip & rip, he’s fine, but as soon as the defense does anything complicated, call him Okonkwo, because things fall apart.
TALENT
2021 OPPORTUNITY
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 4, Pick 119 Overall: Kene Ngwangwu, Running Back, Iowa State (6’1” 210 pounds)
Depth Chart:
RB1: Dalvin Cook
RB2: Alexander Mattison
RB3: Kene Ngwangwu
RB4: Ameer Abdullah
TALENT
Ngwangwu is an extremely fast (if one speed) runner who has a lot of trouble changing direction, getting a head of steam into the line of scrimmage, and powering through tacklers. Other than that, though, Ngwangwu is fine! He’s very fast, and is a big and athletic running back (9.89 RAS score!), so it makes sense that the Vikings snatched him up to replace the departed Mike Boone. Right now, they have Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison, two backs that are basically carbon copies of each other. Adding Ngwangwu gives them a new aspect: pure speed. It’s unlikely he supplants Mattison as the backup, but he does add a different component to their run game. Ngwangwu likely also gets reps on special teams as a return man. He’s a great piece to add to their team.
2021 OPPORTUNITY
…I just don’t think he matters for fantasy football. Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison likely soak up 90% of the running back touches when they are healthy. Mattison and Cook provide more than enough coverage otherwise, so I don’t hold out hope that he steals from either of them.
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Ngwangwu’s path forward for 2021 fantasy football relevance comes solely due to injury.
TALENT
2021 OPPORTUNITY
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 5, Pick 157 Overall: Ihmir Smith-Marsette Wide Receiver, Iowa (6’1” 179 pounds)
Depth Chart:
WR1: Justin Jefferson
WR2: Adam Thielen
WR3: Olabisi Johnson
WR4: Ihmir Smith-Marsette
WR5: Chad Beebe
WR6: Whop Philyor
TALENT
Smith-Marsette is smooth and fluid and has some okay size. He doesn’t have a lot of alpha traits, but he does have useful traits. ISM’s a shifty speedster who uses a lot of that talent as a return man and a deep threat guy. He doesn’t have a lot of alpha traits, but he does have useful traits. His route tree needs some work, but he is an athletic guy who is always looking for YAC. ISM is fast but without a second gear, so he’s basically running a wind sprint with the CB. Overall, he’s an athletic WR without a lot of technical proficiency who has good (not great) hands.
2021 OPPORTUNITY
ISM is the type of guy who helps his quarterback out without really becoming a star himself, at least not immediately. The Vikings have two of the best wide receivers in the league with Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson, and they don’t love to let Kirk Cousins ball out, so Minnesota provides ISM with limited opportunities in 2021. He likely tops out at 60 targets this season, barring catastrophic injuries to Thielen or Jefferson.
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
If Adam Thielen or Justin Jefferson miss time this season, I could see ISM worming his way into some PPR deep league value. But, those targets likely get distributed through him and Bisi Johnson instead of going to ISM alone. He’s a great depth piece in the NFL, but I don’t see a straight path forward for him in 2021 outside of a particularly virulent strain of an injury bug hitting the team’s WR room.
TALENT
2021 OPPORTUNITY
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
Round 5, Pick 168 Overall: Zach Davidson, Tight End, Central Missouri (6’7” 245 pounds)
Depth Chart:
TE1: Irv Smith Jr.
TE2: Tyler Coklin
TE3: Brandon Dillon
TE4: Zach Davidson
TALENT
Zach Davidson is too tall for his weight and came out of nowhere to be good. But he’s really fast, and agile enough, and has some good hands. Jimmy Graham made a whole career out of boxing out other guys, so maybe Davidson can do the same? Did I mention he was also Central Missouri’s punter? I didn’t? Probably because watching this guy play is insane enough without knowing he served double duties. He reminds me of guys I played basketball with in high school who clearly just had overactive pituitary glands and were just too large for their body to add weight to catch up. If someone told me Davidson grew 7” in 2020, I would believe them. He’s just so lanky!
2021 OPPORTUNITY
Zach Davidson should not be active on game days and is more than likely a practice squad player in year one.
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
I want Davidson to be good really badly, but the last time someone with his build made ripples, a little girl stabbed another little girl. I doubt he matters for fantasy football at any point, but year one is right out the window.
TALENT
2021 OPPORTUNITY
2021 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK
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