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2014 NN community mock draft: With the 40th pick, the Minnesota Vikings select ...

The 2014 Niners Nation NFL mock draft is off and running. We move on to the Minnesota Vikings, courtesy of user Hoopers Judge.

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

We're back for the 40th pick of the 2014 Niners Nation Community Mock Draft. You can see previous picks below in the draft table. You can also follow the mock draft board through this story stream.

With the 40th pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, Hoopers Judge and the Minnesota Vikings select Jimmie Ward, S, Northern Illinois. He also considered wide receiver Davante Adams, and defensive linemen Ra'Shede Hageman and Stephon Tuitt. Here are his thoughts on the pick:

This was an easy selection after thinking it out. As of right now the Vikings starting safeties are Harrison Smith and Jamarca Sanford. Smith is a good starter drafted in the 1st round of the 2012 draft, while Sanford was a 7th round pick from the 2009 draft who was asked to take a pay cut this March.

Harrison Smith and Jimmie Ward are great complements to each other. Smith is 6'2", 214 lbs and plays the run and pass equally well and is an active defender close to the line of scrimmage. 5'11", 193 lbs Ward is a cover Safety who plays receivers well and isn't afraid to stop the run. He also can cover slot receivers. During his 2013 season with NIU he logged 7 INTs, 95 tackles, 10 passes defended, and 1 sack. As stated above, he's good in coverage, can play the run well enough to not be a liability, and he makes plays against the pass. His size has been brought in to question about whether he can survive the NFL. But frankly, playing a deep FS isn't going to require him to take much contact.

It also fits an NFC North where you have offenses based around the passing game commanded by QBs like Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, and Matt Stafford throwing to guys like Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Martellus Bennett, Brandon Pettigrew, Joseph Fauria, Reggie Bush, and Matt Forte. The Vikings still need a CB but having 2 good Safeties can help make up for the deficiency.

I was hoping Kyle Van Noy or Marqise Lee would fall to me. But Ward is a great consolation prize. I considered Davante Adams to go with Cordarrelle Patterson and an aging Greg Jennings. I also considered Stephon Tuitt, what with Rick Spielman's fetish for Notre Dame players. But the Vikings have Brian Robison and Everson Griffen already and a #3 DE isn't really a round 2 priority. Hageman's fall could have ended here as well, but once again the possible upgrade from a Linval Joseph isn't as great as the upgrade from Jamarca Sanford. If this mock draft lasted till the 3rd or 4th round I'd target a Christian Kirksey, Carl Bradford, Jeremiah Attaochu, Jordan Tripp, Telvin Smith, or Jordan Zumwalt to play LB.

Trevor Woods: The Vikings still need help at many positions, but shoring up the Safety spot here with Ward is a nice choice. Ward is a good all around safety, with above average cover skills and a solid run defender. He's a bit undersized, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in strength, the guy hits hard and with authority.

Nick Chiamardas: After QB, the secondary might be the Vikings biggest weakness. Adding a versatile safety like Jimmie Ward is smart although I'm not sure he fits what Mike Zimmer wants to do on defense. Ward isn't your typical hard charging, big hitting strong safety. While he's certainly capable of making a big play, he's a hybrid-style safety capable of lining up at either safety spot or even in the slot. Ward is also an excellent tackler allowing him to play in the box when necessary. The Vikings added Captian Munnerlyn to man the slot corner so Ward with Harrison Smith would man the back end. Zimmer wouldl have plenty of options and personall groupings that would allow Ward to see the field a ton. I love Jimmie Ward and the way he plays the game. If put in the right position, Ward could make a name for himself early in his career.

Round 1

1.

wiseguy545

Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina [Full Story]

2.

El Shorts Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn [Full Story]

3.

9er4life22 Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville [Full Story]

4.

Boss Clifford Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson [Full Story]

5.

Mark Balliet Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M [Full Story]

6.

CheekeeMunkee Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo [Full Story]

7.

TopFlightSecurity Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M [Full Story]

8.

Hoopers Judge Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida [Full Story]

9.

jmart7 Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina [Full Story]

10.

germinator Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA [Full Story]

11.

49feelinfine Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State [Full Story]

12.

superk0725 Taylor Lewan, OL, Michigan [Full Story]

13.

El Shorts Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix, S, Alabama [Full Story]

14.

BryKno Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh [Full Story]

15.

SigepPT49er C.J. Mosley, ILB, Alabama [Full Story]

16.

Mira Loma Maulers Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M [Full Story]

17.

JMichael39 Darqueze Dennard, CB, Michigan State [Full Story]

18.

Desert Dog Runner Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State [Full Story]

19.

albert.55 Zack Martin, OT, Notre Dame [Full Story]

20.

MidnightSpecial Calvin Pryor, S, Louisville [Full Story]

21.

Rowingdave Ryan Shazier, OLB, Ohio State [Full Story]

22.

MisterEclectic Jason Verrett, CB, TCU [Full Story]

23.

Rowingdave Odell Beckham Jr., WR, LSU [Full Story]

24.

BearAKA Kyle Fuller, CB, Virginia Tech [Full Story]

25.

CraigRED&GOLD Louis Nix III, DT, Notre Dame [Full Story]

26.

Boss Clifford Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State [Full Story]

27.

Roy_from_Israel Kony Ealy, DE, Missouri [Full Story]

28.

dave.bocchino Allen Robinson, WR, Penn State [Full Story]

29.

49ersCusefan Timmy Jernigan, DT, Florida State [Full Story]

30.

Tre9er Dee Ford, DE/OLB, Auburn [Full Story]

31.

ak4niner Xavier Su'a-Filo, OG, UCLA [Full Story]

32.

timmyg24 Morgan Moses, OT, Virginia [Full Story]

Round 2

1. (33)

wiseguy545 Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, Eastern Illinois [Full Story]

2. (34)

THETONY#1 Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Alabama [Full Story]

3. (35)

Boss Clifford Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State [Full Story]

4. (36)

Mark Balliett Kyle Van Noy, OLB, BYU [Full State]

5. (37)

CheekeeMunkee

Carlos Hyde, RB, Ohio State [Full State]

6. (38)

TopFlightSecurity Marqise Lee, WR, USC [Full Story]

7. (39)

9er4life22 Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech [Full Story]

8. (40)

Hoopers Judge Jimmie Ward, S, Northern Illinois [Full Story]

9. (41)

jmart7

10. (42)

49feelinfine

11. (43)

superk0725

12. (44)

El Shorts

13. (45)

germinator

14. (46)

SigepPT49er

15. (47)

Mira Loma Maulers

16. (48)

JMichael39

17. (49)

Desert Dog Runner

18. (50)

albert.55

19. (51)

BryKno

20. (52)

MidnightSpecial

21. (53)

Rowingdave

22. (54)

MisterEclectic

23. (55)

BearAKA

24. (56)

Tre9er

25. (57)

CraigRED&GOLD

26. (58)

Roy_from_Israel

27. (59)

Cnnrvydt

28. (60)

dave.bocchino

29. (61)

Tre9er

30. (62)

49ersCusefan

31. (63)

ak4niner

32. (64)

timmyg24