Tag: Derek Stingley Jr

Peter King has Vikings taking the most polarizing player in the draft at No. 12

This prospect fits the Vikings like a glove.

We’re in the final stretch of the 2022 NFL draft, where the overthinking and overanalyzing becomes the common theme. This is the time when teams start getting cold feet on draft picks and second-thinking the plan they’ve spent the last several weeks putting together.

The Minnesota Vikings could easily become one of those teams considering the flexibility they have with the No. 12 overall pick.

But NBC Sports’ Peter King has the team sticking to its guns and taking the one player that has been tied to them since the very beginning.

In his recently released mock draft, King wrote:

There are good fits, and there is Stingley in Minnesota, where he’d be coached by his old defensive coordinator at LSU, secondary coach Daronte Jones, and he’d be mentored by former Tiger corner Patrick Peterson.

Stingley would essentially be right at home with the Vikings. Granted, he’d have to trade the warm and sunshine in New Orleans with a little cold and snow, but it would be well worth it for him to reunite with Jones and play with Peterson.

The Vikings might have the luxury to go in a lot of different directions with their first-round pick, but it would behoove them to address a secondary that gave up the fifth-most passing yards in the league last season.

And Stingley is a player that can help them do it.

If he could have entered the draft after his freshman year in college, he would have been a top-10 pick. He was that good at one point. But injuries in his sophomore and junior seasons slowed his progression.

“I think he was the best NFL prospect in the country as a freshman, and his workout this spring showed a lot of [Darrelle] Revis to me,” a general manager told King.

There’s definitely some risk involved with taking Stingley early given the injury history and lack of sustained progress.

But if there’s even an iota of a chance he could mimic some of the things that made Revis one of the greatest shutdown corners in NFL history, the Vikings should strongly consider making this selection, assuming he’s still on the board.

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SKOL Search: Mock draft roundup 10.0

Derek Stingley Jr. still dominates, but two new names come into the equation this week.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In the 10th week of the roundup, we saw the majority of the players be mainstays of this year’s mock drafts. Unlike last week, this rendition saw three new players added to the list.

My biggest takeaway from this week: Derek Stingley Jr is becoming the runaway favorite among analysts.

Here’s how things panned out in the latest mock draft roundup.

2022 NFL draft: Whiffing at corner would mean bad consequences for Vikings

Cornerback is still a big need for the Vikings

The re-signing of veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson loosened the necktie a bit for the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the 2022 NFL draft.

They are no longer in a position where they must take a cornerback with the No. 12 overall pick. However, there’s a big difference between the words “must” and “should” for a Vikings team that still needs to be careful of getting too comfortable with their current roster.

Peterson, who turns 32 in July, will be permanently enshrined in Canton one day with a golden jacket, but he is no longer the type of player that can carry a secondary as the top man on the depth chart. He can’t just snap away half of the field like Thanos and consistently force quarterbacks to throw away from him.

Make no mistake, he’s still a formidable defensive player, but those prime Arizona Cardinals days are long gone.

Injuries should also factor into the equation at some point, even given his nearly impeccable track record of availability. Age and attrition has a funny way of rearing its ugly head at the worst possible times.

The talent is top-heavy in the draft this year with players like Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, Trent McDuffie and Derek Stingley Jr. all being tied to the Vikings in mock drafts at least at some point. There’s a strong possibility all three could be gone in the first round, which would then leave the team hoping they can get in on the next crop of players like Florida’s Kaiir Elam or Clemson’s Andrew Booth Jr.

The problem for Minnesota is their cornerback room is a quick fix job like last season. There is no stability at the position with Cameron Dantzler being the only starter under contract beyond the 2022 season.

And then his contract is due as well after 2023.

The Vikings not only need high-end talent in the defensive backfield, but they also need a bit of stability as well.

Over the last two seasons, the secondary has ranked in the bottom-half of the league in average passing yards allowed. They gave up the fifth-most passing yards in just last season alone.

The secondary was getting charred on a weekly basis, like the downside of a steak seared to perfection by Gordon Ramsay himself. This Vikings team can’t afford a third straight year of bad defensive play on the backend.

Chandon Sullivan will help in the slot, and the monstrous combination of Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith will force opposing quarterbacks to adjust their internal clocks.

But the Vikings clearly need help.

Football analyst Warren Sharp recently dropped the ugly statistic that Minnesota has given up touchdowns on an average of 32.4 percent in the last four minutes in games in 2021. No other team came close to that percentage with the league-average hovering around 12 percent.

This is a big season for the Vikings to determine the direction they go for the foreseeable future. Will they stay in a win-now mode or tear everything down and begin the brick-by-brick rebuild?

What they ultimately decide to do with the No. 12 pick will have a significant impact on that decision.

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SKOL Search: Mock draft roundup 9.0

Not everyone sees the Vikings taking a cornerback with the No. 12 pick

We are currently 16 days away from the first round of the NFL Draft taking place. As things get closer, the predictions become more narrowed down. This process has been more varied than it’s been in the past.

The deep position groups of cornerback, edge and wide receiver don’t have a clear-cut top player, and you see a bevy of prospects being ranked in the top-five of their position rankings.

For the Minnesota Vikings, there aren’t any new players projected to them this week, but we won’t let that spoil the fun when looking at who the experts have them taking with the No. 12 overall pick.

Vikings 2022 NFL draft preview: Where does Minnesota stand at CB?

The Vikings should be aggressive at cornerback

There’s no need in beating around the bush when it comes to this year’s 2022 NFL draft preview. We’re getting right to the main event, and for the Minnesota Vikings, it all starts with the cornerback position.

It’s no surprise that everyone from mock draft experts to couch analysts still have the team taking a corner with the No. 12 overall pick.

The secondary was burnt toast on a weekly basis last season, and yet, instead of throwing the toast away entirely, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has opted to just scrape off some of the charred crust and put it right back on the plate.

There’s still work to do in the draft, and fans are hopeful the first-year GM adds another playmaker to the defensive backfield sooner rather than later.

Vikings top mock pick Derek Stingley Jr. could be steal at No. 12

Stingley Jr. impressed at the LSU Pro Day.

Derek Stingley Jr. could potentially fall out of the top-10 and into the awaiting arms of the Minnesota Vikings with the No. 12 overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft. If he’s anything like the 2019 version of the player that had SEC receivers on an island, we could be looking at a top-five talent being overlooked for circumstances beyond his control.

This is a situation where overthinking things tends to get scouts and general managers into trouble.

In Stingley’s first two seasons, when he played in seven-plus games, he received first-team All-SEC honors. Those awards came when lining up with the best of the best in the toughest conference in college football.

And opposing quarterbacks were still afraid to throw to his side of the field.

He had 15 pass deflections and six interceptions when he was the budding freshman teams constantly made the mistake of trying to pick on. By the time his sophomore year rolled around, everyone had the memo that bad things usually happen when you throw in his direction.

Stingley was on top of the world at that point and probably could have been a top-three pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. But in the sport of football, where human bodies are constantly flying around like crash test dummies, there’s always going to be a luck factor that comes with the process of being drafted.

Talent and physical abilities will always be one side of the coin, while the other side can be broken down into two questions: Is the player healthy enough, and did he play in enough games to prove he’s sustainable?

The latter is obviously the issue for Stingley considering he missed three games during the 2020 COVID season, and he only played in three games last season after suffering a Lisfranc foot injury.

There is always going to be a certain degree of risk involved when drafting a player, but the objective is rolling the dice and beating the odds. Just on Stingley’s tape alone, it’s clear he’s one of the best defensive players in the draft.

But the ankle injury from 2020 coupled with the foot injury that ruined his 2021 campaign could lead to teams getting cold feet in using a top-10 draft pick on him.

In Vikings Wire’s recent mock draft roundup from around the league, it’s clear that Stingley is falling down draft boards with the Vikings being mocked the most as the likely team to select him. The pairing makes sense on paper considering the team still needs a young, high-end talent at cornerback to add to a struggling defensive backfield.

There’s also the LSU connection with corner Patrick Peterson and the hope that the future Hall of Famer could serve as somewhat of a mentor for Stingley in his NFL transition.

Stingley didn’t get to participate at the NFL Combine, but he was cleared by doctors to work out at LSU’s Pro Day on Wednesday. When speaking with reporters, he doubled down on his NFL readiness after an impressive showing.

“Nothing has changed over these past couple years,” said Stingley, via ESPN’s Mike Triplett. “…I’m still me, everything’s gonna be good.”

A vintage Stingley would be bad news for the teams forced to play against him and even worst news for the ones that willingly overlooked him.

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Eagles hosted Clemson CB Andrew Booth Jr. on a top-30 predraft visit

Philadelphia Eagles hosted Clemson CB Andrew Booth Jr. on a top-30 predraft visit

The Eagles have an urgent need at the cornerback position opposite Darius Slay and prior to Derek Stingley’s pro day at LSU, Philadelphia hosted former Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth on a top-30 visit.

The 6-foot, 190-pound cornerback in the middle of the first-round and the former ACC star would be a perfect fit for the Eagles, as he’s most effective in zone coverage underneath than tight man.

A ball-hawking cornerback with play-making instincts, Booth Jr. has elite burst when closing on the ball and he’s physical against the run as well.

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Eagles’ DB coach in attendance at LSU’s pro day to get an up-close look at CB Derek Stingley Jr.

Philadelphia Eagles’ DB coach Dennard Wilson is in attendance at LSU pro day to watch star CB Derek Stingley Jr.

One of the biggest and most intriguing pro days will take place on Wednesday when LSU’s top prospects work out in front of scouts and coaches from all 32 NFL teams.

The biggest name on the marquee will be former freshman All-American cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.

During LSU’s 2019 national championship run, Stingley Jr. excelled with six interceptions and 15 pass breakups to solidify himself as the top cornerback in America and a future top draft pick.

Stingley Jr. has only played in 10 games over the last two seasons and he’ll enter the NFL with questions about his durability and motor.

With Philadelphia badly needing a cornerback opposite Darius Slay, the Eagles are among the teams that sent their defensive back coach to get an up-close look at Stingley Jr. on Wednesday.

Stingley Jr. is widely considered the best cornerback prospect available behind Cincinnati’s Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and he’s a player that the Eagles and Howie Roseman will likely be watching at No. 9 or No. 10 overall if he’s still on the board.

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Vikings gamble on defense in Todd McShay’s 2-round mock draft

Vikings get massive upgrades in Todd McShay’s latest two-round mock draft

Even as an analytical guy, Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is going to have to roll the dice at some point. ESPN analyst Todd McShay has him doing exactly that in his latest two-round mock draft.

The Vikings have made enough moves in free agency to give them the freedom of taking the best available player on the board. There are still clear areas of need, including cornerback, edge rusher, interior defensive line and interior offensive line.

Mcshay has them addressing two of those problems in the first couple of rounds of the draft.

Eagles included in a list of six 1st-round trades that would make sense in the NFL draft

Philadelphia Eagles included in a list of six 1st-round trades that would make sense in the NFL draft

Philadelphia has three first-round picks in this month’s NFL draft and a general manager that has a penchant for pulling off huge moves and big deals.

With Howie Roseman’s perceived struggles at evaluating talent, the most realistic move could see the Eagles making a trade up to acquire a player they covet and that can’t miss. NFL.com recently took a look at six trades that make sense in the first round of the draft.

According to NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter, the Eagles, and Jets swapping picks make a ton of sense for both teams involved.

Eagles receive:

No. 10 overall (Round 1)

Jets receive:

No. 15 overall (Round 1)
No. 83 overall (Round 3)
No. 154 overall (Round 5, from WAS)

Philadelphia could be willing to part with two mid-round picks in order to trade up and target the cornerback(Gardner, Derek Stingley), pass rusher(Thibodeaux, Jermaine Johnson), or wide receiver (Drake London, Garrett Wilson, Jameson Williams) that they covet at the top first round.

Such a move would save the Eagles the embarrassment of missing on the pick, while the two other first-round picks could allow the team to accrue even more assets.

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