Vikings select TCU CB Jeff Gladney with 31st pick
Joe Johnson
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I called it.
In my article about the Vikings’ first… First-round pick of the night, WR Justin Jefferson, I said that the Vikings would draft a corner to end the night. Let me explain why, or rather, let Senior Writer for our network, DeShawn Vaughn, explain (via Twitter):
Despite an approximate 48% pressure rate In 5 out of their 7 losses the Vikings do not draft a lineman in the first round
— Deshawn Vaughan (@vikingsfans16) April 24, 2020
According to Pro Football Focus, the Vikings had the 27th “best” offensive line against the pass rush. So, people need to really understand that it’s been relatively amazing that the Vikings have done (despite it not living up to the expectations of most fans or sites like TotalSportsPicks.com) what they have (and their quarterback Kirk Cousins) considering their astonishing refusal to draft lineman despite the fact that they’ve been embarrassed in the playoffs (or Monday Night Football against the Packers) in two of the last three years at least partially because of their offensive line woes.
The thing is, they didn’t need to draft Jefferson at 22 (considering the other receivers that are still on the board that, you know, actually can play on the outside).
I said this in my other article:
Read his draft profile from Pro Football Focus.
“Justin Jefferson ran 575 of his 583 total routes from the slot a season ago with LSU. His production was second to none, as he led the nation with 109 slot receptions and 1,518 slot receiving yards.”
Keep in mind that this also hurts what Adam Thielen does best, as he’s amazing in the slot. This reminds me so much of Laquon Treadwell, in that Jefferson is clearly so one-dimensional that it’s hard to justify him being picked by the Vikings (don’t get me wrong, if he was playing on a team with two other good-to-great receivers, he could do… What he did).
But this is about their other pick.
The corner.
Because we all knew that Zimmer would take a corner, like I said. I called it:
This is the most Vikings thing ever.
“With the 22nd overall pick in the first round the Vikings drafted yet ANOTHER receiver from the SEC (which makes about a baker’s dozen at this point), none of which have panned out I’ll remind you. Despite the fact that they could’ve waited into the second round to get a receiver that will have a better career than the mediocre product of the system/players around him in Josh Jefferson, and instead of investing in the offensive line, they went with trading down to the 31st spot and 117, and 176. Next up? I’m sure they’ll draft a corner.”
That corner is Jeff Gladney. From TCU.
You can read about him here, if you want:
“TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney has been selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 31st overall pick in Round 1 of the 2020 NFL draft.
Gladney wasn’t highly rated coming out of high school in New Boston, Texas. He was rated as the No. 203 prospect in Texas by 247Sports in the Class of 2015, and he chose TCU over North Texas and Rice.
But after redshirting as a freshman, Gladney immediately moved into the starting lineup. He started eight games as a redshirt freshman and broke up six passes in 2016. He started the final nine games of his sophomore season and had a 97-yard pick-six against Texas Tech.”
I mean, we can fix this:
I know.