The Vikings enter this week’s NFL Draft in Pittsburgh with talent and depth needs at several positions.  With nine overall picks, the opportunity is present to accomplish the goal of upgrading the roster.

The first four picks come in rounds 1 through 3.  Minnesota selects No. 18 in the first round on Thursday night. Friday has the Vikings at No. 42 overall in the second round and in the third round Minnesota has two spots, No. 82 and 97 (compensatory pick).  The remaining rounds of the draft (4-7) are Saturday.  In that space the Vikings draft once in the fourth and sixth rounds, and three times in the seventh.

The Vikings’ first four picks in the first two days of the draft will be particularly important to their roster success this year and beyond.  With that in mind, here’s a calculated prediction on four players who could well be available based on talent and team need, and might be headed to the Vikings.

Forget about Oregon tight end Kenyon Sadiq in the first round. The uber athletic Sadiq is all but certain to be selected before the Vikings have their turn at the draft table.  But another Duck, Dillon Thieneman, could well be available and the Vikings should grab him.

Thieneman appears to have the size, speed and versatility to replace veteran Harrison Smith, 37, who may announce his retirement as soon as this offseason.  Listed at about 6-feet and 208 pounds, Thieneman projects as able to play multiple safety positions. While he’s instinctive, he also is thorough in knowing his assignments, per Lance Zierlein writing for NFL.com/prospects.

A personal favorite while watching national champion Indiana was cornerback D’Angelo Ponds. He should be a welcome fit for the Vikings in the second round.  Minnesota has cornerback talent and depth needs.  The almost diminutive Ponds, listed at about 5-8 and 182 pounds, has the kind of toughness and smack that could remind fans of former Viking safety Antoine Winfield Sr. who played at a similar size.  Ponds has quickness, speed, tenacity and confidence. Hard to see him not on the roster for years despite his size.

Last year’s starting center, Ryan Kelly, retired and it’s possible the Vikings could start a rookie at the position.  It might be savvy for Minnesota to use the first of its two third round selections on Kansas State’s Sam Hecht.  He played 42 games in college, per NFL.com/prospects which lists him at about 6-4 and 300 pounds.  That authority praises his technique, cautions that he needs more muscle, but believes consistency can make him an NFL starter, per Zierlein.  If Hect isn’t available, the Vikings could turn to Iowa’s Logan Jones who also is on the short list of best center prospects.

A rookie Vikings running back may well see the field in 2026.  The team has no heir apparent to veteran starter Aaron Jones and injuries in the running back room are frequent. Stepping in to help could be Minneapolis native Emmett Johnson who the Gophers didn’t want but the Vikings should.

He became one of college football’s better backs at Nebraska despite not having top speed and looks like a worthy selection by the Vikings when they use their second third round pick.

Local football authority Daniel House, known for his football film breakdown and data driven research, has noticed the former Minnesota Mr. Football. “He was really good…(with) acceleration, deaccelerating,” House said.  “Sudden, elusive type of back. I feel like NFL teams are going to like Emmett Johnson quite a bit.”

House predicts Johnson will likely be a round two or three pick.  He said Johnson may not have tested that well with scouts but he “transitions” so well in space when he runs that he is an intriguing prospect. “That’s where he is elite. So, I think maybe that’s going to be the calling card for his game is the ability to make people miss. And that’s the bread-and-butter success at the running back position. …”

Worth Noting

There was second guessing on Wild coach John Hynes prior to last night’s playoff opener against the Stars in Dallas.  Should he use veteran goalie Filip Gustavsson or rookie Jesper Wallstedt who had been playing well late in the season. Hynes pushed the right button going with Wallstedt who had 27 saves in Minnesota’s surprising 6-1 win.

The pressure is clearly on the Stars now to win Monday night before the possible seven game series switches to Minnesota for dates on Wednesday and Saturday. StubHub lists ticket prices, including fees, starting at $195 for Wednesday night.

The hockey Gophers have eight hockey alums in the Stanley Cup playoffs: Logan Cooley, Utah Mammoth; Brock Faber, Wild; Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks; Casey Mittelstadt, Boston Bruins; Tommy Novak, Pittsburgh Penguins; Mike Reilly, Carolina Hurricanes; Nate Schmidt, Utah Mammoth;Nick Seeler, Philadelphia Flyers.

The Twins unexpected above .500 start to the season is worth enjoying now with an eye toward how things look after about one-third of the season.  Twins World Series champion manager (twice) Tom Kelly is known for saying the truth about a team comes out after about 50 games of the season.

That’s enough time usually for teams to collect data on how to pitch opposing hitters or how to approach enemy pitchers.  Fingers crossed for the Twins that new talents like pitchers Taj Bradley and Mick Abel are productive long-term.

The Wisconsin athletics director job is open and longtime Northern Illinois AD Sean Frazier, who once worked for the Badgers, is drawing scuttlebutt. Before Minnesota AD Mark Coyle was hired in 2016, one -time Gopher AD McKinley Boston was promoting Frazier for the position.

Pete Najarian, the finance guru and former Gopher and Viking player, drew interest from his alma mater during that same search.  Badger authorities would be wise to make an inquiry about his interest in their opening.

Reminiscing about former Gophers football coach Lou Holtz in last week’s column prompted a response from ex-Brainerd football coaching legend and longtime state prep football advocate Ron Stolski. A huge admirer of Holtz, Stolski emailed about a meeting that happened not long after the iconic coach arrived in Minneapolis in 1984:

“When coach Holtz was hired, I received a call from him. …He asked me to contact some high school coaches and invite them to attend a gathering he was hosting.at a local hotel. I did. About 30-40 attended. Coach told the group that he was totally committed to the high school coaches of Minnesota, would support them in every way he could, and pledged to recruit every player the coaches would recommend. Then he told us the bar was open, and to stay as long as we wished and left us to our musings.”

Longtime Moorhead High School and Concordia College play-by-play radio voice Larry Knutson is retiring.  He started with Moorhead sports in 1979 before soon adding Concordia broadcasts, per a news report from the Moorhead Public Schools. He estimates calling 4,000 to 5,000 games, and in more recent years covering grandchildren of athletes from his early years.  https://www.isd152.org/o/moorhead/article/2819553

Good news for the United States Tennis Association which promotes the sport throughout the country and stages the annual US Open in New York. According to A.I., tennis players live 9.7 years longer than sedentary individuals.  That’s per the Copenhagen City Heart study over a 25-year period.  Tennis has other sports beat including badminton (6.2 years), soccer (4.7 years), cycling (3.7 years), swimming (3.4 years), and jogging (3.2 years).