Most Minnesota Vikings fans have their wish list of names at this point in the pre-draft process. Cincinnati’s Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. LSU’s Derek Stingley. Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton.
Notice a trend with those three names? All defensive backs. All are currently projected to go before pick No. 12 in most mock drafts.
Many fans are in lockstep that GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah must address the desperate need at defensive back in the first round, and most have their sights set on a few names exclusively. Fans spent months daydreaming about Sauce or Stingley and salivated at the early mocks that had one of them slipping to pick No. 12.
But now, with both corners putting on an athletic showcase at the combine and at their pro days, it seems more unlikely by the minute that the Vikings will draft either of them. So perhaps we should start looking at Trent McDuffie, the consensus third corner on the board?
I can already hear a collective groan as I type his name.
There’s a whole lot of hand-wringing going on over such a complete, talented, and experienced player. For many fans, he’s a clear tier below Singley and Sauce, and taking the Washington corner at pick No. 12 would be a reach.
Ready for a hot take? I think McDuffie is a safer bet than Stingley, the second-best corner in the class, and will be a really nice pro. And I’m not alone in my analysis.
Trent McDuffie Is Tough, Experienced, and Competitive
McDuffie was a three-year starter in the Pac-12 and a damn good player. A four-star recruit out of high school, he was an immediate starter for the Huskies. He quickly became a fan favorite for his toughness and tenacity, blowing up screens and playing scrappy on the outside against receivers who outsized him.
Don’t let his reputation as a tackler make you think that he’s limited in coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, McDuffie was the top-rated coverage corner in the Pac-12, leading the conference in coverage grade, completion percentage against, and yards allowed per coverage snap.
McDuffie primarily played off-zone coverage with the Huskies, but he’s not exclusively a zone corner. He showed the versatility to play man coverage when given the opportunity, especially in the short-to-intermediate passing game. He’s got good hips and does a good job staying in phase in man coverage.
But it’s in zone where he can take advantage of his eye discipline and instincts, traits that would undoubtedly serve him well in Ed Donatell’s zone-match defense. He’s shown various techniques to combat opposing receivers and has good use of his hands when jamming in press. He’s moves fluidly and carries vertical routes with ease.
McDuffie is also the kind of player that football coaches will naturally be smitten with. He simply loves ball. His love of the game radiated off him at the podium during the combine.
“I’m a student of the game,” McDuffie said. “I love to learn. I want to break down film every single day of the week. And also I play as if I’m a linebacker. I’m a defender. I can tackle, I want to tackle, I love to tackle. I love to get in the mix. I love to be in the box. They just tell our coaches all the time, put me at safety, let me just go run the alley, let me go take on these linemen. I’m a competitor. I love to compete and, at the end of the day, I want to win.”
McDuffie has a reputation as a smaller corner but not prohibitively so. McDuffie stands at 5’11”, 193 lbs. That’s plenty tall enough for a cornerback, and with plenty of meat on his bones to play physical against bigger receivers. His shorter arms are where his measurables start to raise questions. At 29 ¾”, he is only in the fifth percentile of NFL cornerbacks. That is admittedly not ideal.
But how many freakish athletes have we seen bust at cornerback? For me, work ethic and football IQ are among the top traits a prospect can display. McDuffie might never reach superstar CB1 status in the league due to physical limitations, but his attitude and mental makeup almost guarantee that he’ll be a contributor.
Simply put, this level of effort and tenacity translates.
Don’t Overthink It: Draft Good Players
McDuffie is precisely the type of culture setter who could make a big difference for this Vikings defense.
While his body type may be best suited to playing the slot, he’s shown he can slide into multiple positions and will be technically sound wherever you put him. He’s got plenty of speed and quickness, has exceptional instincts, and can hit like he’s Antoine Winfield reincarnate. And while his arm length may be a question mark, it’s grossly over-criticized.
Juxtapose McDuffie to Stingley’s profile. I like Stingley. He clearly is a uniquely gifted physical specimen and was arguably the best defender in the country as a freshman with the Tigers. However, his play has dropped off substantially in the last two seasons due to poor effort and medical issues. If you wipe Stingley’s 2019 tape from the conversation, McDuffie’s been unquestionably more productive and consistent in the past two seasons.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah agrees with me, ranking McDuffie ahead of Stingley in his latest Top-50 Player Rankings. “McDuffie is one of the safest players in the draft,” writes Jeremiah.
Sometimes we get so concerned with measurables, analytics, and combine results that we make the process more complicated than it needs to be. Don’t overthink it. Draft good players. Trent McDuffie is a really good player. And I’d personally be looking forward to lots of hits like the one below for years to come.
