Vikings Draft 2020: Offseason seven-round mock draft

Seventh Round (Pick No. 217)

Dane Jackson – CB (Pitt)

This is another really interesting pick at the end of the draft. The Vikings’ secondary clearly needs help after what was one of the worst years they’ve had in recent memory.

Xavier Rhodes could potentially be done in Minnesota due to a lack of cap space and him not living up to expectations. Trae Waynes could potentially be on his way out as well as Mackensie Alexander due to the fact that their contracts are up.

Cornerback will need to be addressed heavily in the 2020 NFL Draft by the Vikings, so that’s why they’re doing it twice in this mock draft.

First, Minnesota selected Myles Bryant in the fourth round and here they draft Dane Jackson, a 6-foot, 190-pound corner out of Pittsburgh.

Jackson is a redshirt senior who has experienced some success throughout his college career. During his time at Pittsburgh, he totaled 149 tackles (nine for a loss), 1.5 sacks, four interceptions, four forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries.

For a later-round pick, there’s quite a bit to like about Jackson’s skills. He’s a very athletic corner who can play the game like a wide receiver. He reads route combinations well and he can anticipate a throw nicely.

Jackson has the skill-set to play as an outside corner in the NFL, either as a CB2 or a rotational type of player. He can tackle fairly well on the boundary and for a guy who’s 6-foot, he has some really nice length.

Now for the not so good.

Jackson has some pretty poor ball skills. He has some poor timing when trying to time his jumps. He’ll lunge at the ball rather than going up with control. A lot of times he’ll jump too early and the ball will fall perfectly in the lap of the receiver.

He’s going to be a guy that gets holding penalties quite often and he needs to develop his technique if he doesn’t want to hurt his team.

Jackson isn’t going to come in and be a starter on day one, but he’s someone a team could build around. With a lot of younger pieces, he slots in as more of a depth role right away for the Vikings.