Vikings Go Defense in Mel Kiper’s First Mock Draft of the Year
Dustin Baker
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If you’ve followed our draft stuff amid the last few weeks, a rather emphatic trend is emerging on the consensus of the Minnesota Vikings plans with the 12th overall pick.
Left up to pundits, Sauce Garnder will join the Vikings in April.
His full name is Ahmad Gardner, and he is a cornerback from the Cincinnati Bearcats. Gardner is theorized as the second-best cornerback in the draft, behind Derek Stingley Jr. from LSU.
A month ago, another draft guru, Todd McShay, selected Garnder to the Vikings in his first mock draft of the upcoming season. Well, a different draft mind has done the same.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper authored his first mock draft of 2022. And unsurprisingly – because of the budding trend – Kiper hypothesizes, like McShay, Sauce will toss on purple and gold clothes this September. Kiper explained the pick:
“Since 2013, the Vikings have drafted four cornerbacks in Round 1 … and not a single one of them is still on the roster. Coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman are out, and the new regime will inherit a good, not great, roster with a couple of significant voids, particularly at corner. Veteran Patrick Peterson was signed to a one-year deal last offseason, so he’s a free agent, and I’m not sold that Cameron Dantzler is a quality starter. They should jump at the chance to take Gardner, a lockdown corner who presented problems for opposing offensive coordinators in 2021. He was targeted just 31 times as the nearest defender in coverage, and he allowed only eight catches for 60 yards. With Kirk Cousins not locked in long term, I thought about a quarterback here, but Gardner is too good to pass up for a team in glaring need.”
Kiper’s underwhelming prognosis on Dantzler is a little confusing. Dantzler had a 72.4 PFF grade and a 74.7 Passer Rating Against in his second season. He’s 23 years old and on his way to becoming a trustable cornerback, at least per typical NFL maturation.
Regardless, Minnesota needs cornerbacks – even with cornerback savant, Mike Zimmer, no longer in charge of the team. The Vikings have drafted four CBs since the 2013 NFL Draft in the 1st Round and have little to show for it now on the depth chart.
That’s why Gardner adds up for Minnesota. At #12, he’d be reasonably considered the coveted best player available while filling the blatant need for a cornerback.
But keep an eye on what the new general manager – who should be hired in a week or so – does at the quarterback position. Should that man or woman opt to trade Kirk Cousins, the Vikings will be quarterback shopping somewhere in the draft. Normally, teams without a good passer use the 1st Round to find a quarterback.
Otherwise, the team needs a cornerback, EDGE rusher, and some linebackers. If Cousins remains on the team for 2022 and beyond, bet on a defender selected by the Vikings with the team’s first pick.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. 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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