Round 1 – Pick 12 overall: Derek Stingley Jr., CB – LSU
The dream pick here is Cincinnati’s Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. Sadly, the top corner will likely be off the board before the Minnesota Vikings are on the clock in Round 1.
If the draft plays out that way at the top, new GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah should look to LSU cornerback Derek Singley Jr. to give the secondary some more depth and competition heading into the season.
Even though the purple and gold brought back Patrick Peterson and have former third-round pick Cameron Dantzler penciled in as starters on the outside, Stingley would immediately add depth to the position and possibly unseat Dantzler for a starting role if he is impressive enough right out of the gate.
At LSU, he only played in 25 total games. In those contests, he defended 20 passes and registered six interceptions while forcing two fumbles, recovering two fumbles, and accumulating 73 tackles (53 solo).
NFL.com gave him a grade of 6.5 out of 10 with “Boom-Or-Bust Potential” while giving him an 84/100 when evaluating him with Next-Gen Stats. Even though that’s a little scary, they have his NFL comparison as Stephon Gilmore, which would be nice for the Vikings to add to the stable.