With Patrick Peterson Back, the Vikings Feel Like a Perfect Landing Spot for Derek Stingley Jr.

Will the Vikings add another LSU corner by using the 12th overall pick on Stingley?

The Vikings brought back a former LSU All-American cornerback on Wednesday, signing Patrick Peterson to a one-year, $4 million deal.

Will they draft another one in four weeks? 

With Peterson back in the fold, Derek Stingley Jr. almost makes too much sense for Minnesota, which holds the No. 12 overall pick in this year's draft.

How could a situation be any better for him? The Vikings have the perfect mentor in place with Peterson. They have Daronte Jones, Stingley's defensive coordinator at LSU last season, as their defensive backs coach. They have a longtime DBs coach, Ed Donatell, as their DC. And they're a team in win-now mode that can offer a chance to compete for a starting spot on a veteran-laden defense featuring established stars like Harrison Smith, Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Za'Darius Smith.

Signing a trio of corners in Peterson, Chandon Sullivan, and Nate Hairston gives the Vikings the flexibility to feel like they don't absolutely need to draft one with the 12th pick. It also doesn't change their long-term outlook at the position. With talented-but-inconsistent third-year pro Cameron Dantzler the team's only starting-caliber corner on a rookie contract, the Vikings are still in prime position to take someone like Stingley in the first round this year.

"I think they're definitely going to draft a corner at some point," Peterson said in his announcement podcast.

"Stingley!" yelled his co-host, former Steelers cornerback Bryant McFadden. "I said it (a few weeks ago), if I'm Kwesi, I'm bringing back Pat Pete, I'm drafting Derek Stingley Jr. You got Stingley, you got Pat Pete, you got Cameron Dantzler, you're cooking with gas. Now you've got a future Hall of Famer being able to tutor both young players, and you're building for the future."

"I think he'd fit in great," Peterson said. "I think he'll be — with Ed (Donatell) coming from Denver — I think he can be another Patrick Surtain II, coming in and having a strong (impact) on a defense at an early age, right out of the gate. He has that type of potential."

"If he's there, I think it would be a perfect match. His ball skills and his athletic ability, he has the total package. He reminds me a lot of myself when I was in school, just how agile he is at the line, how physical he is at the line of scrimmage. His press technique, how he's able to locate the ball when he's not looking at the quarterback. He's a special one and I can't wait to see how his career's going to unfold at the next level."

Patrick Peterson returning to MIN in a mentorship role. The #Vikings recently hired Daronte Jones who was the DBs coach and defensive coordinator last year at LSU.

A certain LSU corner in this class makes a lot of sense for them at 12. https://t.co/D0dlMrA6j7

— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) March 30, 2022

Things appear to be set up well for the Vikings to land Stingley, if they're as high on him as Peterson and McFadden are. Cincinnati's Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner is the consensus CB1 in this draft and is unlikely to make it out of the top ten picks. But with possible concerns about Stingley's injuries and production over the past two seasons, it seems like there's a solid chance he'll be available at 12.

The pick would come with some risk for the Vikings, but it would also come with a substantial amount of upside.

Stingley was an elite recruit a few years ago and instantly was the best cornerback in the nation as a true freshman on LSU's 2019 championship team. He had six interceptions and 15 total passes defended that year, was named a first team All-American, and would likely have been a top-five pick if he were draft-eligible in 2020. But Stingley has only played in 10 games (with no INTs) over the past two seasons due to illness, COVID protocols, and multiple lower-body injuries, which has caused his stock to fall a bit. In particular, the Lisfranc injury Stingley suffered in his foot last year is a potential cause for concern.

However, despite the injuries and dropoff in his play over the last two seasons, Stingley's potential may be too great for the Vikings to ignore. If he stays healthy and gets back to the 2019 version of himself, he would wind up being a steal for whoever lands him. Stingley has the tools to be an immediate-impact corner and a perennial Pro Bowler if things break right in his NFL career.

There's precedent for the Vikings' new GM making a move like this. Last year, when Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was Andrew Berry's top assistant in the Browns' front office, Cleveland drafted Greg Newsome II in the first round. Newsome was a talented cornerback prospect with great film and questions about his injury history. He's roughly the same size as Stingley, and both had yet to turn 21 at the time of their respective draft. It worked out well, as Newsome was right there with Surtain as the most impressive rookie corner in the league last season (though he did miss five games).

Given all of the factors involved, it's still more likely than not that the Vikings don't end up drafting Stingley. We don't know if he'll be there at 12, nor do we know if the Vikings actually like him enough as a prospect to pull the trigger if he is there.

But with one month to go, Stingley has to at least be on a very short list of the most likely candidates to don a purple and yellow hat on the night of April 28th. All of the pieces are place for him to walk into a great situation and contribute right away in Minnesota if things unfold that way.

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