Mel Kiper Sends Ballhawk CB to Vikings in Latest Mock Draft
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings could go in a number of different directions with their first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Just in recent weeks, we’ve seen cornerbacks, quarterbacks, wide receivers, and even a linebacker head to the Vikings in mock drafts from top NFL outlets.
In Mel Kiper’s latest mock draft for ESPN, we see him send a ballhawk CB to the Vikings at No. 23 overall. That prospect is Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes.
Here is Kiper’s rationale behind the pick:
Cornerback is a clear need area for Minnesota, which replaced Patrick Peterson with Byron Murphy but has plenty of available corner reps. Forbes needs to grow into his 6-1 frame — he weighed in at 166 pounds at the combine — but he is a great cover corner. He had six career pick-sixes in college, and he never missed a game because of injury. He needs to be more consistent, but he has outstanding instincts and his ceiling is high. The Vikings also could target a wideout to complement Justin Jefferson with this pick.
Forbes is certainly on the smaller side for CB prospects. As Kiper states, he weighed in at just 166 pounds at the combine, leaving plenty of room to put more weight onto his 6’1 frame. He recently visited the Vikings as well, so clearly the team is at least somewhat interested in him as a prospect.
The CB also has showcased terrific ball skills over the course of his collegiate career. In 2022, he intercepted six passes, which led the SEC. He also led the SEC in 2020 with five picks, and as Kiper said, he has returned six of these interceptions for touchdowns. This type of playmaking ability would do well in a Brian Flores defense.
The Vikings certainly need to find more depth at corner this offseason considering they only have five players at the position right now. He is primarily an outside CB as well, which would open the door to Minnesota being able to utilize free agent signing Byron Murphy’s versatility to switch between the outside and the slot.
In all, Forbes is one of the more promising prospects in a very deep CB class. If he is available at 23, it makes a lot of sense for the Vikings to take a stab at him. Perhaps when April 27th finally rolls around, we could see his name come across the ticker for Minnesota’s selection at 23rd overall.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.