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2018 Vikings Draft Prospects - Secondary


swede700

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I would like, at this stage, to expand the conversation currently in the Prospects thread to more specific positions, especially with the Combine occurring this week. 

The next positional group I'd like to discuss is the secondary. The Vikings are certainly pretty strong in the secondary, for the most part, with above average starters in Harrison Smith at safety and Xavier Rhodes at CB, and 2 extremely solid players in Andrew Sendejo and Trae Waynes opposite them.  But, they will need to continue to build depth because they may choose not to retain Waynes (after this year if they don't pick up his 5th year option) and if Mackensie Alexander doesn't make a big jump this year.  The other still on the roster are an ancient (but still pretty serviceable) Terence Newman, young players Jack Tocho and Horace Richardson at CB and Anthony Harris and Jayron Kearse at S.  Non-factor Tramaine Brock and valuable veteran returner Marcus Sherels are both free agents (along with Newman).  

Cornerback

Carlton Davis, Auburn - Big, physical CB that Zimmer would love and is at his best in man-to-man coverage.  Has some character issues in that he was arrested for misdemeanor drug charges.

Josh Jackson, Iowa - Ideal frame for a press corner and has experience as a WR, so he'll have great ball-skills.  Excellent speed, but not a great tackler and can get grabby (but so have Rhodes and Waynes in their early careers)

Isaac Yiadom, Boston College - Excellent size and speed and is decent in press coverage.  Would need time to develop though as he lacks ideal bulk and his read/react is a little slow.  

 

Safety

 Marcus Allen, Penn State -  Aggressive tackler and good straight-line speed with good character.  He's strictly an in-the-box safety though.

 Ronnie Harrison, Alabama - Tall and athletic with high football IQ.  Reliable open-field tackler, but not great at changing directions, as his good speed is mostly straight-line speed.  

Terrell Edmunds, Virginia Tech - Physical run defender and good open-field tackler and decent closer, but lacks recovery speed.  

What are your thoughts on these guys?  Anyone else that you think would be a good fit for the Zim Reapers?

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Being an FSU fan I'd love to see Zimmer get his hands on Tarvarus MacFadden. He underperformed during his time at FSU but really the entire defense did. I think he could be grabbed in round 3 or 4 and turned into a great player with Zimmer and Gray coaching him.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/27/2018 at 12:03 PM, TENINCH said:

Being an FSU fan I'd love to see Zimmer get his hands on Tarvarus MacFadden. He underperformed during his time at FSU but really the entire defense did. I think he could be grabbed in round 3 or 4 and turned into a great player with Zimmer and Gray coaching him.

I’m a fan of his as well, I’d take a chance on him. But his slow 40 does worry me. Donte Jackson in the 2nd wouldn’t be bad. 

Like I’ve said, I have a feeling the Vikings will go corner in round 1. 

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6 hours ago, Eric dunn said:

I’m a fan of his as well, I’d take a chance on him. But his slow 40 does worry me. Donte Jackson in the 2nd wouldn’t be bad. 

Like I’ve said, I have a feeling the Vikings will go corner in round 1. 

Another slow, big CB I like is Quenton Meeks out of Stanford.

Jr, 6'2", 200 lbs, - 40 time, projected 4th-5th round.

 

Meeks had a really good career at Stanford. He is technically sound even at his age, partly due to being a coach's son. Because he's slow, he'll need safety help on deep routes, which might make him a better fit for a Tampa 2 defense (if any teams still run that anymore). Still, with Harrison Smith and perhaps another good safety down the line, I think he'd be covered if he came here. I like him as a reserve boundary CB, and perhaps a stop-gap player if we don't resign Trae Waynes for 2020 and fail to find a replacement. 

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On ‎2‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 1:03 PM, TENINCH said:

Being an FSU fan I'd love to see Zimmer get his hands on Tarvarus MacFadden. He underperformed during his time at FSU but really the entire defense did. I think he could be grabbed in round 3 or 4 and turned into a great player with Zimmer and Gray coaching him.

Depending on how the first round plays out (I'm going to assume that we go OL there but I have nothing to substantiate that claim), we may have to trade back and accumulate more picks in the 3-4 range. We don't have a 4th rounder, which is where I've seen McFadden projected to go.

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I'd call this the second biggest need after another OL or two. They need a CB, or two, imo. Maybe I just can't wash how bad Waynes was the first two years out of my brain....or maybe he's over rated here. Either way, they need another CB, because 2-3 is not enough. They can't only rely on the DL....

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25 minutes ago, PrplChilPill said:

I'd call this the second biggest need after another OL or two. They need a CB, or two, imo. Maybe I just can't wash how bad Waynes was the first two years out of my brain....or maybe he's over rated here. Either way, they need another CB, because 2-3 is not enough. They can't only rely on the DL....

Waynes drastically improved after week 8, and imo is the best tackling CB on the roster. He is an asset at this point.

They need depth that they can develop, and shouldn’t spend more than a 3rd round pick on a corner this year. I think an OL, another DE, and a more athletic TE are bigger needs than a CB right now.

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1 hour ago, PrplChilPill said:

I'd call this the second biggest need after another OL or two. They need a CB, or two, imo. Maybe I just can't wash how bad Waynes was the first two years out of my brain....or maybe he's over rated here. Either way, they need another CB, because 2-3 is not enough. They can't only rely on the DL....

I agree.  Rhodes goes to the sideline and teams immediately score touchdowns against us.  The team cannot keep depending on Newman and Alexander still has shown very little.

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50 minutes ago, Freakout said:

I agree.  Rhodes goes to the sideline and teams immediately score touchdowns against us.  The team cannot keep depending on Newman and Alexander still has shown very little.

You make it sound like our defense was horrible last year. Not saying it was great or that we don't need to add more depth, but I think this is an overreaction.

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Seeing how Newman wasn't performing as hoped toward the end of the 2017-18 season, and assuming one of the young CBs may not be retained beyond 2018, I assume a CB will be drafted in rd 2, after RT (or IOL) in rd 1.  I don't see WR or LB or DE drafted until rd 3, because of the fall-back options available in FA after the draft occurs.  

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