If it was his decision, Dean Dalton might take a cornerback with the No. 22 pick in Saturday’s NFL draft. The former Vikings’ assistant coach, who will be talking about the draft next Saturday morning on his weekly Sirius Satellite Radio show, said Ohio State’s Malcolm Jenkins or Illinois’ Vontae Davis could be impact corners for Minnesota.
Dalton likes the secondary players on the Vikings’ roster but sees a need in the draft. “They could never have enough corners,” he told Sports Headliners. “I think a kid with a talent to become a cover corner would be a huge asset to add to the (defensive) package and give (coordinator) Leslie Frazier the ability to really completely use a blitz package. …”
As the defending NFC North champion and likely 2009 playoff contender, Dalton said it’s important for the Vikings to improve themselves in this draft. The first two rounds are where the Vikings must take the best player available, adding impact players to the offense and/or defense. In the later rounds the goal is to take players who can make the roster and add depth, something that separates teams once they’re in the playoffs, according to Dalton.
“Absolutely. Without a doubt I think in both the first and second rounds, you need to draft strictly the best value, the most talented player by your evaluations,” he said. “…If you can match a value and a need that’s a perfect world scenario, the perfect storm.”
Dalton described the overall upcoming draft as “unique” because of the depth at a number of positions including offensive tackle, another Vikings need. He said there’s no agreement on how the first round will go as to who is drafted and when. “There’s no real natural slotting,” he said.
In addition to cornerback, speculation is the Vikings might draft a right tackle like Eben Britton from Arizona or a wide receiver such as Percy Harvin from Florida on the first round. The Vikings seem unlikely to pick a quarterback because of their commitment to Tarvaris Jackson, 25, and Sage Rosenfels, 31. That could also true because Dalton said this isn’t a good draft for quarterbacks. He said junior eligibles Matthew Stafford from Georgia and Mark Sanchez from USC will go among the first 12 picks but both would have benefited from another year in college.