Settle Down, Mock Drafts: Picking a Corner For Vikings is a Bad Idea
K. Joudry
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The early mock drafts tend to have the Vikings leaning in a certain direction: a first-round corner. There’s some logic here. Patrick Peterson, Bashaud Breeland, and Mackensie Alexander are all veterans playing on one year deals. Plus, if Mike Zimmer remains, the team will likely prioritize adding corner talent. After all, it’s a passing league, so having defenders whose primary responsibility rests in eliminating the pass is logical enough.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, though, I’m going to suggest that a first-round corner is a bad idea for the Vikings.
Before getting to the meat and potatoes of my argument, let me begin by promoting some great Purple PTSD draft content. Josh Frey – God bless you, Josh – is the draft man in this part of the internet. He recently released a Top 200 Draft Board. He has also provided a viewer’s guide to college games that are on deck by highlighting a few players to keep an eye on. The resources he provides help me make sense of the mocks I’m reading at other spots.
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With that being said, the early Vikings mock drafts.
The Athletic‘s Dane Brugler (for my money, the best in the business) published his first mock recently. He puts Minnesota at 12th and has them choosing Andrew Booth, a corner from Clemson. He describes Booth as “a long athlete with controlled hip movement and the ability to find the football. His tape from this past weekend against South Carolina will get NFL teams excited.” Arif Hasan follows up on the Brugler piece by mostly insisting it makes sense: “Booth’s on-ball production doesn’t always look like that, but it often does. His performance against South Carolina had several equally impressive moments, too. The Vikings relish upside and are comfortable taking chances on that kind of talent.” Josh has Booth as his 15th-best prospect.
PFF continues the corner trend in their recent mock. They prophecy a Kaiir Elam selection, who is a corner from Florida. Here is their description: “Elam dominated so much as an underclassman — 89.8 and 81.0 coverage grades as a true freshman and sophomore in 2019 and 2020 — that opposing offenses have largely avoided him in 2021. This year, Elam has been targeted 27 times in seven games, 18 of which came in just two games (Alabama and Samford). In addition, he has allowed only one explosive reception over 15-plus yards while making six plays on the ball. Elam is fantastic at the line of scrimmage in press-man coverage, but he can thrive in multiple schemes.” Josh has him at 41st on his board.
In many ways, I can sympathize with these Vikings mock drafts. The corners are undoubtedly very talented. Some of the high-end prospects will become impact NFL players. Plus, there’s really no debating that the Vikings need to address the corner position in a substantial manner. What I’m arguing, though, is that the team needs to adjust how they address the corner position.
Mike Zimmer began coaching the Vikings in 2014. In his time as head coach, there have been success stories for defensive linemen and linebackers chosen in the draft. We really can’t say the same about corners. Keep in mind that Xavier Rhodes was chosen the year before Zim took over. One could – and should – give Zimmer credit for turning Rhodes into a truly elite corner, if only for a short time. Nevertheless, Rhodes doesn’t fit into this exercise.
I turned to Pro Football Reference to access the Vikings’ draft history since Zim took over as head coach. Unsurprisingly, there has been a concerted effort to bring in young corners. By my count, the Vikings have chosen 10 corners in Zim’s time. Three of those have been first round picks: Trae Waynes, Mike Hughes, and Jeff Gladney. All three didn’t work out. The best of the bunch is easily Waynes; he is merely average.
Mack Alexander was a 2nd and he had some nice moments, especially toward the end of his rookie deal. I’m happy to say he is a moderate success, especially since he returned to the team (though he has struggled this season). Moreover, the team has Cameron Dantzler (a 2020 3rd), Kris Boyd (a 2019 7th), and Harrison Hand (a 2020 5th) on the roster. Dantzler may become a legit starter; Boyd and Hand can hopefully be great special teamers and part-time defenders.
Do you see the trend, though, folks? First rounders have not worked out. A second rounder was good at times, but far from dominant. Dantzler may be good, but the final chapter hasn’t been written. Otherwise, the late-rounders have only stuck around on the short-term. For a head coach who is supposed to get the most out of corners, it’s a discouraging trend. If Zim remains, I’d be much happier to see the team bring in veteran corners in free agency rather than sink another first into corner.
The mock drafts will undoubtedly continue sending corners over to the Vikings. The team may actually prove those mocks right by choosing one in the opening round; no one can debate the importance of having a true shutdown corner. All I’m saying is that the Vikings may be wise to pivot when it comes to their corner strategy. At some point, the franchise will need to take a bird’s eye view so they can recognize the trend that is plain to see.
Until then, enjoy the mock draft speculation.
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