Leslie Frazier Indicates Vikings Will Go Cornerback Next

With Matt Kalil in the fold the question becomes, what position will the Vikings target next? Defensive back would seem to be the logical place to go. At safety, Harrison Smith is the best option with the 35th pick, but Smith might not be on the board then. At cornerback the Vikings have multiple options including Trumaine Johnson, Josh Robinson and, if they really want to take a chance, Janoris Jenkins.

But of course the Vikings don’t have to stay at 35. Thanks to the trade down with the Browns they now have plenty of flexibility when it comes to making further moves, and as it happens Leslie Frazier just indicated in an interview with KFAN that the Vikings do indeed want to trade back up into the late first and target a cornerback. If the Vikes do move up, more options may come into play, including Dre Kirkpatrick who will need to fall past a couple teams, including the Bears and Bengals, in order to slip to the late first.

Of course there’s some danger in believing anything anyone associated with the Vikings says right now. Rick Spielman spouted a bunch of crap for weeks trying to drum up trade interest, and maybe Frazier is doing his version of the same thing. But I think Frazier is being sincere. He’s a defensive guy and you know he wants to upgrade the secondary. Dre Kirkpatrick would be a big-time selection for this team. The scouts rank him as possibly the best zone coverage corner in the entire draft.

There may be some who disagree that the Vikings should next pursue a cornerback, and think wide recevier should be the target instead. But Frazier shot down the idea that receiver is a 2nd round target for the Vikes, saying Jerome Simpson can fill the role the Vikings were looking for. The other day I predicted the Vikings would, because of the Simpson signing, wait until perhaps the fourth to take a receiver. Looks like that could come to pass.

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