The Minnesota Vikings will certainly address the defensive side of the ball in the 2021 NFL Draft.
After the disaster that was last year’s Minnesota Vikings defense, which resulted from youth and injuries, Mike Zimmer will not allow them to leave the 2021 NFL Draft without significantly helping that side of the ball.
Last year’s rookie group was pretty solid, in all fairness. The Vikings rookie cornerbacks all had flashes, while Cameron Dantzler became arguably the team’s best outside corner after he returned from injury. First-rounder Jeff Gladney slowly came along in the slot and he seems like he could be the answer at that spot moving forward.
Harrison Hand even had his fair share of playing time near the end of the season and he came away with an interception in the blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints on Christmas Day. Troy Dye and D.J. Wonnum both got their opportunities as well and the Vikings will be able to evaluate their future roles this offseason.
As the NFL Draft creeps closer, there will be plenty of speculation about who the Vikings will select with their early picks. Plenty of defensive talent will be available when Minnesota is slated to be on the clock with the 14th overall pick. They should be able to land top defensive talent through their first few selections of this draft.
But still, there are plenty of gems to be found later in the draft that have not picked up a bunch of national attention up to this point. So who are the best defensive sleepers to keep an eye on for the Vikings in the 2021 NFL Draft?