The NFL Draft is only two weeks away with the options for the Minnesota Vikings being both plentiful and unknown.
Most experts have them selecting a cornerback in round one for good reason. They don’t have a lot of talent in the room and seemingly zero plans after this year. Only Cameron Dantzler is signed for 2023, and he is a free agent after that season. The one element that I find most intriguing is that this defense does not need great corners to truly thrive but rather just really good ones.
Does that mean that you shouldn’t take one early? Not necessarily.
In a scheme Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell is projected to run, Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II thrived and proved to be worth the selection with the No. 9 pick of the 2021 NFL draft. Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner could be taken in the same vein.
In my opinion, if he is off the board (which is incredibly likely), there isn’t a cornerback I would be comfortable with at No. 12. Derek Stingley Jr. has way too many questions, while the group of Trent McDuffie, Kaiir Elam and Andrew Booth Jr. are ones I would be happy with in a trade back.
There are four scenarios I believe are ideal for the Vikings come April 28th with the 12th overall selection.