On Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings announced that they signed Za’Darius Smith. The former Green Bay Packers linebacker logged 26 sacks in 33 regular-season games in Green Bay and will now bookend a defensive front with Danielle Hunter.
The addition of Smith, and hopefully a healthy Hunter, should help bolster the Vikings’ pass rush. Although they tallied 51 sacks in 2021, which ranked second in the league, Pro Football Focus ranked them in the middle of the pack in team pass-rush grade. Minnesota may not replicate their 2021 sack count, but getting more consistent pressure on the quarterback would be a welcome trade-off.
By signing Smith, the Vikings also cross off a glaring need they had going into the offseason. With Hunter returning, Minnesota can now enter draft season knowing that they don’t need to use a high pick on an edge rusher. The additions of defensive tackle Harrison Phillips and linebacker Jordan Hicks locked down two other starting spots along the defensive front seven.
Their secondary has holes, though. Specifically, the cornerback corps resembles a preseason squad in the fourth quarter. Only four cornerbacks are currently on contract, and of these four, Cam Dantzler has the most starts with 17. Kris Boyd is technically CB2, but he is nothing more than a special teams contributor after six starts the past two seasons. Behind them are Harrison Hand and Parry Nickerson, two players who will probably only play on special teams.
The Vikings probably won’t use a first-round pick on offense because they have an array of weapons from Justin Jefferson to Dalvin Cook. The weakness for years, though, has been along the offensive line. But with second-year tackle Christian Darrisaw bookending the line with Brian O’Neill, the Vikings finally have a solid foundation to build on. Left guard Ezra Cleveland was solid in 2021. Center Garrett Bradbury is essentially a bust now, but teams can find centers outside of the first round. The same can be said about right guard, where Oli Udoh struggled mightily after a strong first month of the season.
When comparing the two position groups, finding a top-end cornerback in the first round has more value than an interior offensive line. Since 2019, only four interior linemen (including Bradbury) have been selected in the first round. There were five cornerbacks selected in the first round of the 2021 draft alone, and two of these cornerbacks were top-10 picks. Quenton Nelson was the last interior offensive lineman drafted into the top-10. The Indianapolis Colts took him sixth-overall in 2018.
It became a running joke during the Mike Zimmer era that the team loved drafting cornerbacks in the first round. However, none of the three players the Vikings drafted during that time ended up worthy of their first-round status. Ironically, though, cornerback should be Minnesota’s highest priority on Day 1 of the draft this year.
Fortunately, the Vikings are sitting in a good spot to snag a top corner. Many mock drafts have Minnesota taking Cincinnati’s Sauce Gardner, the consensus No.1 corner in the draft, with the 12th pick. But the rest of the group should be available, including Derek Stingley, Jr. from LSU, and Trent McDuffie from Washington. Not only are they available, but NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah has them ranked 11th and 14th overall, respectively, creating an ideal draft situation where the value and need align perfectly.
Stingley is built like the perfect cornerback, standing 6’0″, 190 lbs., and possessing 30⅝” arms. He blends this size with his athleticism to potentially become a shutdown cornerback in the NFL. Most scouts agree that his final two seasons at LSU weren’t as great as his 2019 campaign, but the talent is there. Stingley could be a terrific addition in Minnesota if he can get the proper coaching and scheme fit and give them a Xavier Rhodes-like defender.
While Stingley has some boom-or-bust potential, McDuffie has been heralded as one of the safest picks in the draft. He is smaller than Stingley, standing 5’11”, 193 lbs., but was a three-year starter and is widely praised for his competitiveness. Draft experts believe McDuffie will be a Day 1 starter, which would hopefully ease the growing pains we’ve witnessed from other Vikings cornerbacks in recent years. With his size, he could also slide inside and become the team’s nickelback, a position that has been in flux for several years.
The Vikings’ roster isn’t perfect, but there is talent sprinkled throughout almost every position group. Cornerback isn’t one of those groups, though. Even with head coach Kevin O’Connell‘s offensive background, bypassing the offensive line to fortify the cornerback position would be a wise move in this year’s draft. With the addition of Za’Darius Smith and the return of Danielle Hunter, the Vikings need a secondary that can take advantage of a ferocious pass rush.
