Reporter/Columnist | Vikings/NFL

Mark Craig has covered the NFL nearly every year since Brett Favre was a rookie back in 1991. A sports writer since 1987, he is covering his 30th NFL season out of 37 years with the Canton (Ohio) Repository (1987-99) and the Star Tribune (1999-present).

A native of Northeast Ohio, Craig covered the Cleveland Browns from 1991 until they left for Baltimore in 1995. When they returned as an expansion team in 1999, Craig left to cover Gophers football for the Star Tribune. He co-authored two books on the Browns and is the author of the Vikings book "100 Things Vikings Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die."


Five extra points: How NFC North teams got creative in the NFL draft

The Lions took some flyers. The Bears took a punter. The Vikings filled a vital need. Mark Craig takes a look at some draft picks you might have missed.


Meet the Vikings' 2024 NFL draft class

The Vikings' seven draft picks included a QB of the future, a star edge rusher, a kicker and some help for the offensive and defensive lines.


Recap: How Vikings used five picks on Day 3 of the draft

The Vikings added a cornerback, two offensive linemen, a defensive lineman and, yes, a kicker on the final day of the NFL draft.


Alt family planned for peaceful night. They got an NFL draft surprise.

Joe Alt, an All-America left tackle from Notre Dame and Totino-Grace High School, gathered with 100 friends and family members to watch the first round of the NFL draft. Not long after it started, he got an unexpected phone call.


Totino-Grace, Notre Dame star Alt taken fifth overall by Chargers

Forty years after his father was selected 21st overall by Kansas City, offensive tackle Joe Alt became just the third Minnesotan drafted in the top 10 in the last 20 years.


Mark Craig's mock draft: QBs, trades and the Vikings take . . .

This mock draft has offensive players taken with the top seven picks. So if you like defense, you really don't need to show up for the start.


Another big Vikings need might not be addressed early in draft

The Vikings haven't had a dominant interior defense lineman in two decades, and they might not get one in the draft this year either because of the team's even bigger needs.


Former Totino-Grace star set to follow father as first-round pick

Joe Alt, an offensive tackle out of Totino-Grace and Notre Dame, is expected to be a top-10 NFL draft pick. His father was a first-round selection 40 years ago.


How interest in the mock drafts we love so much went from zero to infinity

The mock drafts of today are 50-plus years in the making, paved by draftniks such as Joel Buchsbaum and Mel Kiper Jr.


Flores channels 'inner Zimmer,' makes pitch for another cornerback

Not everybody is fixated on which quarterback the Vikings should take in the draft. Brian Flores, the team's defensive coordinator, thinks "you can never have enough" cornerbacks.