Vikings Draft 2020: Midseason three-round mock draft

Paulson Adebo – CB (Stanford)

The Vikings’ secondary could look very different in 2020 since both Mackensie Alexander and Trae Waynes are entering the free-agent market after this season.

Minnesota is expected to be strapped for cap space next year and they likely won’t be able to sign both Alexander and Waynes to new contracts. It is even doubtful that they’ll be able to afford one of them.

Xavier Rhodes‘ play has also deteriorated over the last couple of seasons and the Vikings could look to release him after the 2019 season. That would leave Holton Hill and Mike Hughes as Minnesota’s two starting corners in 2020, with Kris Boyd and Mark Fields as the primary backups. That is a scary thought.

The once unbelievably deep group of corners Mike Zimmer put together is suddenly looking very scant and an infusion of young talent is needed. This is one of the Vikings’ biggest needs heading into the 2020 Draft and one that could be addressed with their first-round pick.

There are some decent corner prospects who could be available when Minnesota picks in the mid-20s including Stanford’s Paulson Adebo.

Adebo is 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds dripping wet. He’s got long, lanky limbs and he excels at high pointing the ball in the air and batting it away from the intended receiver. He has proven to be a playmaker with eight career interceptions and he has always been a very willing tackler.

The biggest knocks on Adebo are that he’s relatively new to the position and that he could look to add a few more pounds to his frame.

He’s a corner Zimmer would love to snap up early though. Adebo is still a work in process, but he’s got all the talent in the world to become a top-flight cornerback in the NFL after working with Zimmer for a year or two.