It’s Time to Work Under the Assumption that Sauce Will Not Be a Viking
If there has been one NFL Draft prospect linked to the Minnesota Vikings more often than any other, it has been the star cornerback of the Cincinnati Bearcats, Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. This makes sense. Minnesota’s biggest draft need is corner; Sauce is the consensus top corner in this class. However, it’s looking more and more like the lockdown defender will not be available when the Vikings are finally on the clock next month.
The most recent piece of evidence suggesting this is Daniel Jeremiah’s recent top-50 prospect rankings. Over the past few years, Jeremiah has been a very good go-between for the media and NFL teams. He gets inside information from teams, and that information has an impact on these rankings. In this third version of the rankings, we have seen Gardner rise to new heights. Not only is he CB1, but he has now overtaken the title of DB1 after being put in at the No. 3 spot, ahead of safety Kyle Hamilton.
Clearly Gardner’s incredible combine performance and Hamilton’s sub-par days both in Indy and at his pro day have NFL teams increasingly valuing Gardner over the Notre Dame do-it-all safety hybrid. Let it be known, there is absolutely no chance that Sauce Gardner will be a Viking if this ranking holds true in April.
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Even if Hamilton comes off the board before Gardner, the chances that the CB falls to No. 12 are extremely limited. Minnesota’s best chance at getting him revolved around the possibility of multiple QBs being picked ahead of him. After all the QB shuffling, it looks like there is a maximum of two teams that could take QBs in the top-11: Atlanta and Seattle. On top of that, we still don’t know where Baker Mayfield will end up when he is inevitably traded. My gut reaction is that it seems quite likely that he will end up being on one of these teams.
There are some out there that believe the poor workouts from Hamilton suggest he could be a target for Minnesota. To that I say don’t get your hopes up. In my mind, there is an even slimmer chance that he falls to 12 than Gardner. Hamilton’s “poor” workouts are largely a result of slower 40 times (in the 4.6-4.7 range at his pro day). This is concerning, no doubt, as you don’t want the last line of defense to be blown away by wide receivers. However, it’s more than made up for by the fact that Hamilton’s coverage skills and instincts are absolute top-tier. He won’t make it out of the top-10.
This NFL draft class is very deep at corner, and unfortunately for the Vikings, a number of teams ahead of them need players at that position. You could make the case for almost every team above Minnesota to take a defensive back. According to The Draft Network’s team needs, six of the nine teams picking in the top-11 are listed with a CB as a primary need. The three teams not carrying this designation are the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and New York Giants.
Obviously, not all of these teams will pick CBs because of the talent at EDGE and OL. There may even be a QB or two that still sneaks in here. However, it seems very unlikely that NONE of them will take a corner ahead of the Vikings, and if they go with the consensus CB1, the Vikings will miss out on Gardner.
That doesn’t mean this has to be doom-and-gloom for the Vikings. As aforementioned, this is a loaded CB class. The two names I’d have my eye on at this point are either Derek Stingley Jr. or Trent McDuffie. Both players have been talked about in depth, but I want to focus on McDuffie’s fit in Minnesota.
As of now, the Vikings are in desperate need of another one or two starting CBs to play with Cam Dantzler. If Patrick Peterson doesn’t return, this need grows even more dire. McDuffie is a beautiful fit into the Vikings defense because he is certainly fast enough to play the nickel (if Peterson returns), but additionally, he is physical and strong enough to hold his own on the outside. McDuffie is a hard-hitter and should be an instant fan favorite once he starts making plays.
If Sauce Gardner were to somehow fall all the way to No. 12, the Vikings should obviously sprint their pick in to Roger Goodell. However, we shouldn’t get tunnel-vision on either Gardner or Hamilton as options in the first round. There are plenty of talented players out there, and Minnesota will get their shot at taking one.
