Five Stud Defensive Players the Vikings Could Draft With the 11th Pick

Keep an eye on these five names throughout the pre-draft process.

The NFL draft is a little over three months away, but it'll be here before you know it. The pre-draft process is going to heat up in a couple weeks with events like the Senior Bowl and Shrine Bowl, and the always-important scouting combine will get going in late February.

The Vikings hold the 11th overall pick in this year's draft. There's been plenty of understandable speculation about GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah taking a quarterback — and perhaps even trading up to do so — but let's hold off on that for now. In a world where the Vikings bring back Kirk Cousins or figure something else out at the QB position, they'll have an opportunity to take a blue-chip defensive prospect who can hopefully become a foundational piece for them on that side of the ball.

The top ten picks are expected to be dominated by offensive players (QBs, WRs, OTs, and TE Brock Bowers), so the Vikings should have an exciting group of defensive players to choose from when the 11th pick rolls around. We'll dive into each of these prospects more thoroughly in the coming months, but here are five defensive players to keep an eye on as potential Vikings targets this year.

Edge Rushers

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

• Dallas Turner, Alabama
• Laiatu Latu, UCLA
• Jared Verse, Florida State

These three are generally viewed as the top tier in this year's EDGE class. All three are highly intriguing pass-rushing prospects with a ton of upside. Whether the Vikings re-sign Danielle Hunter or not, this might be a good year for them to finally take an edge rusher in the first round for the first time since 2005.

Turner is a freakish athlete with crazy potential who had ten sacks this season for the Crimson Tide. Latu, the Vikings' pick in a recent mock draft from The Athletic, was the highest-graded edge rusher in college football this season. Verse is another very toolsy EDGE who had nine sacks in each of the last two seasons.

Other EDGE names to know: Chop Robinson, Penn State; Bralen Trice, Washington

Cornerbacks

Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

• Terrion Arnold, Alabama
• Nate Wiggins, Clemson

The Vikings have their entire 2023 cornerback room under contract next year. Byron Murphy Jr. was solid as their No. 1 option, rookie Mekhi Blackmon showed promise, and Akayleb Evans and Andrew Booth Jr. will be entering their third seasons. Nonetheless, the Vikings still need to seek a true star at that position who they can rely on for years to come.

Arnold and Wiggins have a chance to be that guy. Both players possess elite physical traits and had big-time ball production in their college careers. Arnold had five picks and 12 total passes defended in 2023, while Wiggins — who is 6'2" with 4.3ish speed — had a pick-six in each of the last two seasons.

Other CB names to know: Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama; Cooper DeJean, Iowa; Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo

Defensive tackles to know: Jer'Zhan Newton, Illinois; Byron Murphy II, Texas; T'Vondre Sweat, Texas; Kris Jenkins, Michigan

---

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all season long.

Subscribe to the Inside the Vikings newsletter

Follow Will Ragatz on Twitter