3 prospects the Vikings should trade up for in the 2022 NFL Draft
By Luke Parrish
Ahmad Gardner – CB (Cincinnati)
The cornerback class in 2022 is very intriguing from a number of standpoints. Ahmad Gardner is pretty convincingly the top cornerback in the draft after putting on a clinic at Cincinnati over the years. Derek Stingley would have been the top guy but injuries have created a lot of concern, which is justified.
Stingley is still arguably the best cornerback in the draft from a talent perspective. His ball skills as a freshman in 2019 proved that he was capable of hanging with anyone and I would still argue that those traits are worth investing in at the next level.
However, Stingley has battled through injuries over the past two seasons and while the “injury-prone” label is typically unfair to players, Stingley’s injuries have long-term question marks. He is recovering from a Lisfranc injury which has a tendency to linger and he may never be completely clear of that injury throughout his career.
That leaves Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner as the clear CB1 in this class. As the Vikings clearly need to address the secondary in the draft, Gardner should be their main priority as things stand right now. They have added the other pieces to the roster on defense and drafting an interior offensive lineman in the first round would be dissatisfying.
Sauce Gardner is going to have a busy market around the NFL Draft and several teams in the top 10 could be looking at him. The New York Jets (picks No. 4 and 10), Giants (No. 5 and 7), and the Seahawks (No. 9) could all target Gardner ahead of the Vikings.
The Washington Commanders are also a potential landing spot with the 11th pick even after spending big money on the position last offseason. If the Vikings want to get the top cornerback in the draft, they will most likely have to move up a little bit to do so.
Sending their first-round pick and a Day 2 pick to move into the top 10 with Atlanta and getting a Day 3 pick in return could help the Minnesota Vikings secure their guy in Gardner. Cornerback is their biggest need by a wide margin so this is something that seems like a real possibility as the draft rolls near.