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Our columnists pick for the Vikings

April 30, 2015 at 11:58AM

Iowa offensive linesman Brandon Scherff gets set on the line of scrimmage during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Western Michigan, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013, in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) ORG XMIT: IACN1 (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

JIM SOUHAN

DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville

Since I have no idea who the Vikings will actually take, I will root for the best story. Parker is the best story. While Michigan State's Trae Waynes is a fine player, I don't like the Vikings using a pick this high for a cornerback who doesn't come with a cliché attached — "Shutdown," "Island," "Can't be Trusted with Sharp Objects." So I want the Vikings to take the tall, talented receiver who already has a chemistry with the most important person in the organization, Teddy Bridgewater.

CHIP SCOGGINS

Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State

I won't be surprised if GM Rick Spielman trades down to accumulate extra picks. The Vikings don't have only one glaring need. They could go a number of ways with their first pick — offensive line, wide receiver, pass rusher, cornerback. If they stay at 11, the guess here is that they'll take Waynes, who would give coach Mike Zimmer another big cornerback to play opposite Xavier Rhodes.

SID HARTMAN

Brandon Scherff, OL, Iowa, or Trae Waynes, CB, Michigan State

The only reason the Vikings will make a trade is if there's a super defensive player, a future Pro Bowler, there. Or they might move around to take Scherff or Waynes. But you can rest assured, they are not going to trade Adrian Peterson, as everyone has been predicting. That's not going to happen.

PATRICK REUSSE

Brandon Scherff, OL, Iowa

There are two reasons the Vikings' first-rounder should be Scherff: One, my decades of astute observation have revealed that an offensive line is the engine from which all good things come; and two, with Rick Spielman's sacred promise that Adrian Peterson will be a Viking this fall, a big-time left guard will be an extra-valuable asset next to Matt Kalil. I'll take a 10-year lineman over dollar-a-dozen wide receivers any day (see Patriots).