Mel Kiper’s Latest Draft ‘Big Board’ Causes Problems for Vikings
For quite some time this offseason, the working theory for the 2022 Minnesota Vikings was a cornerback requirement in the early rounds of the NFL Draft.
When Patrick Peterson re-signed with the franchise last week, though, he afforded new Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah some maneuverability. No longer were the Vikings “forced into a corner” to draft a cornerback with the 12th overall pick because Peterson’s reunion enabled the CB depth chart to look respectable.
Still, the team must prepare for the long-term future, Minnesota needs a cornerback, and most credible mock drafts forecast as such. Patrick Peterson isn’t young, it is unclear if Cameron Dantzler will morph into a lockdown commodity, and no other existing Vikings CB is on the depth chart for sure-fire future development.
That’s why most mock drafts and fans believe Minnesota will take Ahmad Gardner or Derek Stingley Jr. with the team’s first selection in the draft.
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But there’s a problem. Both of the players are so good — and their draft stock is rising into April — that they perhaps will not be available to the Vikings at #12. For example, ESPN’s Mel Kiper released his latest draft ‘big board’ last week, placing Stingley Jr. as this rookie class’ fifth-best talent and Gardner at #8.
Word is catching on about Stingley and Gardner. They may be too good to tumble for the Vikings pick.
So, as a contingency plan, Adofo-Mensah can:
- Select a different CB like Trent McDuffie at #12
- Trade back and find a CB later in the 1st or 2nd Round
- Flat-out draft the best player available regardless of position
- Blow off the need for CB altogether
- Trade up to get Stingley Jr. or Gardner
Those are the options. Of course, this operates under the pretense the Vikings actually want one of those coveted corners, which nobody knows for sure because the new regime has no documented track record of drafting players. Adofo-Mensah could “shock the world” and draft Malik Willis or Garrett Wilson with Minnesota’s first pick.
Yet, fans should brace for an NFL draft where Stingley Jr. and Gardner join other teams before the 12th pick because the who’s-who of draft pundits is banging the drum accordingly.
Thankfully for Vikings fans, the anxiety was lessened by the acquisitions of Peterson and Chandon Sullivan from the Green Bay Packers. Before those two players signed on the dotted line, the CB depth chart was Cameron Dantzler and prayer.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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