Vikings trade up twice in fifth round, draft a tight end and kicker
The Vikings traded up twice in the fifth round Saturday, drafting a tight end and a kicker.
Tyler Conklin, a Central Michigan tight end, was the Vikings’ first fifth-round pick (157th overall), marking the fourth straight year Rick Spielman has drafted a tight end in the fifth or sixth round.
Conklin (6-3, 254 pounds) is a former college basketball player who transferred to Central Michigan for football. He caught 77 passes for 1,064 yards and 11 touchdowns in the last two years. He did suffer a foot fracture last summer, which limited him during his senior season.
The Vikings traded up 10 spots to draft Conklin, sending a seventh-round pick (225th) to the Jets. Spielman jumped back into the fifth round, reacquiring the 167th and 225th picks from the Jets in exchange for two sixth-round picks (180th, 204th).
The Vikings drafted kicker Daniel Carlson out of Auburn with the 167th overall pick. Carlson made 81 percent of his field goals in college, however that includes a career-low 74.2 percent (23 of 31) in his senior season.
Carlson will compete with incumbent kicker Kai Forbath.