Minnesota Vikings showing interest in a 2019 cornerback prospect

Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman were on hand at Kentucky’s Pro Day recently to check out cornerback Derrick Baity and other prospects.

Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has never been shy about his affinity for cornerbacks. After the Vikings made a somewhat surprising decision to select UCF corner Mike Hughes with their first-round draft pick last year, Zimmer explained the team’s choice by stating that, “you can never have too many cornerbacks.”

It doesn’t seem likely that Minnesota will be using their first-round selection on a corner again this year (one never knows with Zimmer though), but they do appear to be taking a good amount of interest in a young defensive back from Kentucky.

Derrick Baity is a 6-foot-2, 197 pound corner who started 41 games during his four-year career at Kentucky. In his four seasons, Baity accumulated six interceptions and 25 pass deflections to go along with 148 total tackles.

He’s not considered among the top cornerback prospects in the 2019 draft class, but he’s definitely someone that the Vikings could end up using one of their late-round selections on.

During Kentucky’s recent Pro Day, Zimmer spent some time meeting with Baity and giving him some pointers. The Vikings also met with the young corner at this year’s East-West Shrine Game.

Baity certainly has the build that Minnesota looks for in their corners. But his cover skills still need some polishing and that is something that Zimmer would probably love to help improve.

With Mike Hughes coming off an ACL tear and both Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander entering the last year of their current contracts, it seems likely that the Vikings are going to strongly consider drafting a cornerback this year.

Based on their recent interest, it certainly appears that Baity could end up in Minnesota if he’s still available when it comes time for the team to make their picks on Day 3 of this year’s draft.