Minnesota Vikings end up with different defensive duo in 2013 NFL re-draft
That is why when PFF got to this class in their re-draft series, we knew it was going to be interesting to see how it unfolded.
The top pick was offensive tackle Eric Fisher, who went to the Kansas City Chiefs; second overall was Luke Joeckel, who the Jacksonville Jaguars drafted. After them, though, some names could have been in those spots in hindsight.
In 2013, the Vikings had two first-round picks and went defensive line and cornerback with the selections of Sharrif Floyd and Xavier Rhodes. The pairing of a Florida Gator and a Florida State Seminole is funny, but for Vikings fans, it is a bit of trauma to think how they did not pan out. In this re-draft, they got two different defenders in edge rusher Ezekiel Ansah and cornerback Desmond Trufant.
Trevor Sikkema, who guided this process, explains the picks writing, "Ansah didn't quite live up to his draft status as a No. 5 overall pick, but he was still a disruptive pass rusher at times. He earned a PFF pass-rush grade above 70.0 in four of his eight seasons in the league. He recorded 294 quarterback pressures in his career, with 44 sacks through his first five seasons. . .Trufant made his lone Pro Bowl in 2015 shortly after being drafted by Atlanta in the first round. From 2013 to 2019, he racked up 60 passes defensed. He was also one of the better run-defending cornerbacks in the league, notching four straight 80.0-plus PFF run-defense grades from 2014 to 2017. He would have been an upgrade over Rhodes, who was originally picked here."
It is fun to think about how the Vikings could have stolen Ansah from the Lions, who originally drafted him. For Trufant, he had a great start to his career with the Falcons and would have been a fun addition to a talented Vikings secondary with Mike Zimmer.
These continue to be fun alternate timelines to look at courtesy of PFF.
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