Mel Kiper Jr. Did What He Always Does in Vikings Mock Draft
The NFL Draft will take place in roughly three months and both the draft board as well as the Minnesota Vikings roster will change until that point. Still, analysts’ mock drafts are a good way to figure out who may or may not be available when one’s favorite team is scheduled to select in April.
Prominent NFL mock drafter Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN released his first annual mock draft on Wednesday. For the Vikings, Kiper Jr. envisions LSU corner Mansoor Delane with the 18th overall pick.
Kiper Jr. explained, “Delane would bring top-end ball skills and some really good coverage technique to Minnesota. The Vikings redid their cornerback room in 2025 free agency, but they still have depth problems behind Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers. Plus, Minnesota managed just eight interceptions this season (tied for sixth fewest). Well, over the past two campaigns, Delane has six picks and 18 pass breakups. That’s impact production, and coordinator Brian Flores would love to get a player such as Delane into his unit.”
Indeed, there are real depth concerns. Fabian Moreau and Jeff Okudah are slated to hit free agency in March, leaving only Byron Murphy and Isaiah Rodgers in the cornerback room besides developmental players like rookie Zemaiah Vaughn or Dwight McGlothern. Minnesota will almost certainly need multiple new cornerbacks for the 2026 campaign.
Delane is viewed as one of the top cornerbacks in this year’s draft. He’s Kiper Jr.’s second one off the board behind Tennessee’s Jermod McCoy, who he has going 13th to the Los Angeles Rams.
Ironically, Kiper Jr. has consistently mocked a cornerback to the Vikings in his first annual draft exercise, indicating that the position hasn’t been solidified in a while. Here’s the list:
- 2022: Sauce Gardner
- 2023: Emmanuel Forbes
- 2024: Nate Wiggins
- 2025: Benjamin Morrison
In none of those four seasons did the Vikings actually select a cornerback in the first round. The closest was Andrew Booth in 2022, who was snagged in the second round. Clemson’s DB was off the team by his third NFL season and is now trying to revive his career.
The Vikings have mostly used mid-round picks at the position, such as Akayleb Evans (fourth) in 2022, Mekhi Blackmon (third) in 2023, and the late Khyree Jackson (fourth) in 2024.
Instead of going for a big splash, the Vikings have used band-aid solutions at cornerback, using aging veterans Patrick Peterson, Shaq Griffin, Stephon Gilmore, and Fabian Moreau over the years.
It might be time to invest in a valuable top pick to find a long-term answer. Delane spent his first three college seasons at Virginia Tech and transferred to LSU ahead of the 2025 season. In his career, he appeared in 44 games, securing eight interceptions, six of those in the last two seasons.
SI’s Thomas Martinez wrote about the prospect, “Mansoor Delane is a very good prospect who is disciplined and productive. His athletic testing will be very important for his overall evaluation, as there are questions regarding his top speed and acceleration. Prospects like the Houston Texans’ Kamari Lassiter faced similar questions during the draft process and have excelled at the NFL level.”
“Delane may not be an old school lockdown corner where he can be left on an island against the best wide receivers and athletes in the NFL. He can be a very productive defensive back who is scheme-versatile and can be dropped into an NFL defense as a number two corner early in his career.”
The Vikings haven’t drafted a first-round cornerback since 2020 and it might be time to end that drought.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.