The Minnesota Vikings are heading into the 2023 NFL Draft with a clear goal in mind: to improve their offense and defense. With limited cap space, the Vikings will need to rely on the draft to acquire talented players who can make an immediate impact on both sides of the ball.
On Saturday, Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire released a three-round mock draft in which he helped bolster the Vikings’ roster. In the first round, Farrar had the Vikings selecting Utah cornerback Clark Phillips III.
“There is no NFL defense more cornerback-light than Minnesota’s, and while the addition of new defensive coordinator Brian Flores will prove to be a massive improvement over Ed Donatell’s “Party like it’s 1999” schemes, Flores will need some erasers in the secondary who work well with his eagerness for man coverage and Cover-0 blitzes. Phillips is an underrated, sticky cornerback who can follow just about any receiver through just about any route, and he’d thrive in the kinds of stuff Flores likes to throw at opposing offenses.”
Phillips is a smaller cornerback, but he makes up for it with his physicality. With only three cornerbacks currently under contract for this next season, Phillips would be a welcomed addition, and his mentality at the corner position would match what Brian Flores wants out of his defenders.
The Vikings don’t have a second-round pick, as they traded it for T.J. Hockenson last season, but they do still have a third-round pick. With that pick, Farrar had the Vikings select TCU running back Kendre Miller.
Selecting a running back with limited draft capital will not make most fans happy. Miller is a good running back who displays great patience and vision and was effective for TCU through their title run.
I have a hard time agreeing with this second pick though, as there are many more needs on the Vikings’ roster that should be prioritized.
