The Minnesota Vikings are among the prime candidates to select a safety with the No. 18 overall pick in Round 1 of the upcoming NFL draft, though a trade bumping Minnesota up a handful of spots could put the franchise in the mix for the top cornerback in the class.
Dominique Foxworth of ESPN, a former pro cornerback, dubbed the Vikings the best fit for LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane on April 10.
“He is a pretty sophisticated corner,” Foxworth said of Delane. “He’s seen a bunch of different stuff and played in a bunch of different types of schemes and coverages — NFL-style stuff.
“[Minnesota] is a place that is designed to generate pressure and has a defense that requires you to think a lot as a defender and play in a bunch of different places,” Foxworth continued. “I think Delane has the ability to play the nickel, I think he has the intelligence to play safety — meaning that if they run a simulated pressure or something like that, he can rotate to play deep half. I would like him there.”
Unfortunately for Minnesota, it is highly unlikely that Delane will drop into the second half of the opening round, which means the Vikings will have to find a way to climb into the range of the No. 10 pick to select the 22-year-old defensive back.
And that won’t be cheap.
Vikings Probably Need to Trade into Top 10 of NFL Draft to Secure Mansoor Delane
GettyLSU Tigers cornerback Mansoor Delane.
How high up the Vikings have to go to secure Delane is hard to pin down precisely, but a safe bet is a deal with a team picking no lower than the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 9.
Kansas City is a strong candidate to draft Delane as the first cornerback off the board if he remains available with the 9th pick. Meanwhile, Peter Schrager of ESPN predicted last week that the Cincinnati Bengals will select Delane at No. 10 overall.
The LSU defensive back is also a potential candidate for the Washington Commanders at No. 7, with whom he will meet later this week.
“#LSU CB Mansoor Delane, who could be the top CB taken, has the #Bengals, #Ravens and #Commanders as his final three visits, sources say,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported. “That’s 10 or so [visits] for Delane.”
Washington badly needs upgrades across its secondary, but the team’s needs at edge-rusher, linebacker and safety may all take precedent, which means there is a reasonable chance Delane falls past the Commanders at No. 7.
The Vikings would obviously have to swap the 18th pick with either the Chiefs at No. 9, or perhaps the New Orleans Saints at No. 8, to get into the mix for Delane. Minnesota also holds the rights to the 49th selection in Round 2 along with pick Nos. 82 and 97 in Round 3. The Vikings could include those assets as pieces in any deal.
Mansoor Delane Represents Quality Fit With Vikings Defense on Multiple Fronts
GettyCornerback Mansoor Delane of the LSU Tigers.
Operating under a dated projection of Delane’s athletic abilities, Foxworth noted Minnesota as a quality defensive fit for the things the cornerback doesn’t do quite so well as some of his top peers.
“The Vikings defense is hugely predicated on being able to credibly threaten that, ‘We might bring everybody.’ If you don’t have people that you feel comfortable [with] in zero coverage, you can’t bring everybody,” Foxworth said. “[Delane’s] limitations work well for a defense that’s designed to get fast pressure. He’s not gonna have to run stride for stride with any speedsters.”
However, Delane actually posted a 4.38-second 40-yard dash. That time was considerably better than what Foxworth thought, which co-host Charlie Kravitz pointed out.
“He surprised people,” Kravitz said. “He ran really fast.”
“Well, forget everything I said,” Foxworth responded. “Mansoor Delane is perfect.”
Lance Zierlein of NFL Network compared Delane to first-team All-Pro cornerback Quinyon Mitchell of the Philadelphia Eagles, noting that Delane has “performed at an elite level” over the past two years and has also “shown lockdown potential.”
Vikings Trade Proposal Secures ‘Elite Lockdown’ CB in Draft-Day Deal