LSU Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. Shines at Pro Day — Will He Make it to the Vikings at 12?
One of the last major pro days of the pre-draft cycle took place on Wednesday at LSU, a program that has produced two of the Vikings' biggest draft hits from the last decade (Danielle Hunter in 2015 and Justin Jefferson in 2020).
As always, LSU has several draft prospects of note, but all eyes on this morning were on cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., a slam-dunk first-round pick who is now fully recovered from a Lisfranc injury. He had surgery for the foot injury back in September, and hadn't recovered enough to participate in drills at the combine in March.
It's safe to say Stingley eased any concerns about his health during the athletic testing drills. His 40 time, while unofficially clocked at 4.37, was officially a 4.44. That's still quite fast; it's basically what Jefferson ran at the 2020 combine. Stingley also recorded a 38.5-inch vertical jump and a 10'2" broad jump, both very solid marks.
Stingley is a bit thin and doesn't have particularly long arms. But he proved again on Wednesday that he's a fast, explosive athlete — and more importantly, that he's healthy. Combine that with the tape he put onto the field in college, particularly during his All-American freshman season in 2019, and he's certainly in the mix to be a top-ten pick.
The Vikings are likely hoping he makes it out of the top ten. They hold the 12th pick and feel like a perfect landing spot for Stingley for a number of reasons. Minnesota needs a corner, has a great mentor in place for Stingley with fellow LSU alum Patrick Peterson, and has a defensive backs coach (Daronte Jones) that coached him last year as the Tigers' defensive coordinator.
Concerns about Stingley's injury history and his lack of production over the past two seasons have caused his stock to fall in recent months. He was once viewed as a probable top-five pick, but now it's Cincinnati's Sauce Gardner being talked about as the consensus top cornerback in the draft and a potential top-five choice. Stingley frequently falls to the Vikings in mock drafts and makes a ton of sense for them, although we have no way of knowing how much they actually like him as a prospect.
After this pro day performance, it's possible he may not be there at 12 after all. If teams feel good about Stingley's health, it just takes one to take a swing on his upside in the top 11. This is a guy who had one of the best seasons by a freshman cornerback in college football history. He's a supremely talented cover corner with ball skills and physicality. His practice 1-on-1s with Ja'Marr Chase used to be nothing short of incredible, according to eyewitnesses.
Seeing Stingley impress at LSU's pro day was a good thing for the Vikings. It just might've been too much of a good thing, considering everyone picking in front of them had a representative in attendance too. We'll see how it plays out in three weeks.
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