Vikings Select Georgia Safety Lewis Cine With No. 32 Pick in 2022 NFL Draft
Nearly two hours after they were originally on the clock, the Vikings have finally made the first first-round pick of the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah era. They selected Georgia safety Lewis Cine with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Vikings reportedly fielded trade calls for the pick, but decided to stand pat and take Cine, who they believe will be a major difference-maker in their defense.
The Vikings had the 12th pick coming into tonight, but flipped that and their second-rounder (46 overall) to the Lions for picks 32, 34, and 66. With the first of those three, they land Cine, who was the third safety to come off the board after Notre Dame's Kyle Hamilton and Michigan's Dax Hill.
Cine is a tall, athletic safety who was a key piece of Georgia's historic, national championship-winning defense. He has 4.37 speed and posted a great number in the broad jump as well. His athletic profile is incomplete because he didn't do the bench press or agility drills, but his combination of length and speed is impressive.
RAS score via Kent Lee Platte
This is an interesting pick from the Vikings for a number of reasons. Clearly, they wanted a safety, and they had the opportunity to take the consensus top safety at 12 in Hamilton. Instead, they moved down 20 picks and landed Cine, with Hamilton going to the Ravens at 14.
It's also notable that the Vikings ended up taking a safety and not a cornerback like Clemson's Andrew Booth or Washington's Kyler Gordon, considering corner is their biggest need.
Still, safety was a need for the Vikings too. Harrison Smith is getting up there in age, and Cam Bynum — the second-year player who was the projected starter before Cine was picked — only played a little more than 200 defensive snaps as a rookie.
Cine's stats at Georgia don't jump off the table: 2 INTs, 3.5 TFLs, and 14 passes defended in three seasons. But he had his best season for Georgia's championship team last year and has the physical tools and skillset to continue improving at the NFL level.
Here's the scouting report on Cine from The Athletic's Dane Brugler:
A two-year starter at Georgia, Cine played free safety in former defensive coordinator Dan Lanning’s scheme, also seeing time at strong safety and the “money” position. He was born in Haiti, grew up in Florida, learned to play football in Boston, became a top recruit in Texas and earned All-American status at Georgia – a diverse journey that concluded with him earning Defensive MVP honors in the 2021 national championship game. With his range, explosiveness and appetite for contact, Cine is a do-everything safety and led a talent-rich Georgia defense in both tackles and passes defended in 2021. Although he has room to tidy up his tackling technique, he is at his best as a physical run defender, running the alley like a freight train and tuning up his target. Overall, Cine lacks ideal size by NFL standards and has marginal ball skills, but he is an enforcer vs. the run with the athleticism in coverage to make plays. He is an ascending talent with NFL starting skills, similar to Xavier McKinney as a prospect.
The Vikings will be back on the clock at No. 34 tomorrow night, unless they trade out of it.
Plenty more analysis to come on the Vikings' selection of Cine.
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