6 bold predictions for the Vikings in the 2022 NFL Draft
By Chris Schad
Stingley will not be available at pick No. 12
In the weeks leading up to the draft, Derek Stingley Jr. has been the most popular pick among draft experts. NBC Sports Edge’s Tyler Forness noted that out of 48 mock drafts, 16 mocked Stingley to the Vikings. If one out of three experts believe that Stingley will go to the Vikings, it could be a sign that he’ll be headed to Minnesota on draft night.
It’s just not a guarantee he will be there when the Vikings are on the clock.
Stingley’s profile is an interesting one. In 2019, he posted Pro Football Focus’s top overall and coverage grades among all FBS cornerbacks. In 2020, he contracted COVID-19 before opting out and suffered a Lisfranc fracture last fall.
Despite his breakout as a true freshman, some didn’t believe Stingley would live up to the hype. But his Pro Day workout put that to rest, posting a RAS of 8.97. At 20-years-old, Stingley is the exact prospect Adofo-Mensah watched Andrew Berry draft in Cleveland. The only problem is that there are 11 teams that are drooling over the same profile.
In the landscape of this year’s class, teams could be falling over themselves to take Stingley. This could throw a wrench in the experts’ mocks and have the Vikings looking elsewhere on the board.