Latest NFL Draft Buzz: Derek Stingley Jr. Unlikely to Make it to Vikings at 12

Stingley's talent might ultimately be too great for him to make it out of the top ten picks.

For months now, LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. has felt like the perfect, most likely pick for the Vikings at No. 12 overall. It makes so much sense with Minnesota's need at cornerback and their LSU connections.

12 has also seemed like right about where Stingley would come off the board. He's an immensely talented player who showed off his All-Pro upside with an incredible freshman season in 2019, but injuries and inconsistent play over the past two years caused his stock to drop slightly.

As a result, Stingley has been the most common pick for the Vikings in mock drafts for most of this spring. According to the NFL Mock Draft Database, only three players (Aidan Hutchinson to the Jaguars at 1, Kayvon Thibodeaux to the Jets at 4, and Evan Neal to the Giants at 5) have been mocked to a specific team at a higher percentage than Stingley to the Vikings.

But will he actually make it to 12? (The Vikings haven't traded up within in the first round since 1987, and it would be surprising if new analytics-forward GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah breaks that streak). Stingley's pro day performance earlier this month was the first indication that he might wind up as a top-ten pick, after all.

New buzz from ESPN NFL Draft insider Matt Miller only furthers the skepticism over Stingley being available at 12.

"Derek Stingley, Jr. is the hottest name in the draft," Miller tweeted on Friday. "There is even buzz about him being a top 3 pick to either Detroit or Houston. Said one scout when asked about his subpar 2020 season — 'I'd have checked out on that team, too.' The Seahawks at 9 feel like a floor for him."

Miller added that he thinks it's "very possible" Stingley goes ahead of Cincinnati's Sauce Gardner, who has been considered the consensus No. 1 cornerback basically since last season ended.

This obviously doesn't mean there's no chance Stingley makes it to 12, but Miller is a respected draft analyst who wouldn't just say something like this without merit.

On talent alone, Stingley should be a top-ten pick. His coverage ability, size, and athleticism all give him the ceiling to be a great NFL corner for a long time. The concerns are mostly with his injury history (including Lisfranc surgery last year), but maybe NFL teams aren't as worried about that as we've believed they might be.

It's still possible Stingley ends up as a Viking, but fans should probably prepare themselves for the possibility that both he and Gardner are off the board when the 12th pick rolls around.

Thanks for reading. Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis all offseason long. Also, follow me on Twitter and feel free to ask me any questions on there.