Draft Grades Roundup: What Do Analysts Think of the Vikings Picking Mekhi Blackmon?

After trading back from No. 87 to add a couple extra Day 3 selections, the Vikings finally made their second pick of the 2023 NFL Draft late on Friday night when they took USC cornerback Mekhi Blackmon at No. 102.

Coincidentally, the Vikings' first two draft picks — Blackmon and first-rounder Jordan Addison — have plenty in common. They both are undersized, athletic players who spent last season at USC and took official top-30 visits to TCO Performance Center in April.

The Vikings needed a cornerback, and they believe Blackmon will be a great fit for Brian Flores' defense because of his ability to play physical press-man coverage and make plays on the football. Blackmon wasn't generally projected as a third-round pick by draft analysts, but he had a highly productive 2022 season, finishing at the only cornerback to earn a top-five PFF grade in both man and zone coverage. He makes up for his lack of size by playing with a ton of tenacity.

"Super instinctive corner," GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. "Plays really physical, plays with a good vision on the quarterback. I think there's a skill to knowing when to look at the ball. Not everybody has it. He does. Somebody who's aggressive in the run game. Just somebody we're really happy we got where we did."

Let's check out the draft grades to see what various national analysts thought of the pick. (Instant draft grades are obviously just guesses, but they're interesting nonetheless).

Gilberto Manzano, Sports Illustrated: B+

The Vikings ended Day 2 of the draft addressing a major need by adding help to the secondary. Blackmon was inconsistent in coverage, but he had solid ball skills in college. He recorded 15 passes defended last season.

Chris Trapasso, CBS Sports: A-

Chippy, sticky outside CB with a tiny, spindly frame. Always around the football. Was a big-time sleeper. Can play inside or on the perimeter. Great pick.

Scott Dochterman, The Athletic: B-

The Vikings entered the draft with only five selections and worked the third round to their favor by trading down and ending up with a quality cornerback in Blackmon (5-11 178). Last season he was a first-team All-Pac-12 corner with 15 passes defensed, three interceptions and 66 tackles. He has good speed (4.47 in the 40) and has decent strength (11 reps of 225 in the bench press) but needs to avoid penalties (five pass interference calls). But Minnesota needs defensive backs for the No. 31-ranked defense, and Blackmon has the capability to play right away.

Brent Sobleski, Bleacher Report: C+

Strengths:

Competitive man-cover corner, ball skills

Weaknesses:

Thin frame, not much help in run support

Since the Minnesota Vikings decided to move on from veteran Patrick Peterson, release Cameron Dantzler Sr. and not re-sign Chandon Sullivan, cornerback was a significant area of need. The team still has Andrew Booth Jr. and signed Byron Murphy Jr. in free agency to help offset those losses. Still, more needed to be done. USC's Mekhi Blackmon joins the position group after posting the second-highest grade among cornerbacks last season, according to

Pro Football Focus

.

Chad Reuter, NFL.com: B+

Minnesota dealt its second-round pick to Detroit at last year’s trade deadline for T.J. Hockenson, who played well for the Vikings in the second half of the season. But the move won’t be worth an “A” if the team only gets one more season out of the veteran before he hits free agency. The Vikings adeptly traded down in the third round to add another Day 3 selection and still managed to land a good corner in Blackmon with the final pick of the night. He’s slim, but he does not back down from bigger receivers and has solid ball skills.

Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News: D

The Vikings needed more corner help but decided not to stop the strange freefall of Kelee Ringo and reached deep into Day 3 for a limited physical, aggressive cover man.

Charles McDonald, Yahoo! Sports: C+

Solid, versatile cornerback for the Vikings here. They need as many as they can get their hands on for Brian Flores and the scheme he's going to install for the 2023 season.

Joseph Acosta, SB Nation: C+

Interesting pick with guys like Kelee Ringo and Clark Phillips still on the board, but Blackmon is scrappy to the point of getting flags for being too grabby. He’ll need that coached out of him, but it’s a scheme fit for Brian Flores and the Vikings D.

Ryan Gosling, Pro Football Network: D

Blackmon has intriguing qualities as a coverage defender. He has good speed and explosiveness, as evidenced by his Combine testing, and he’s also an instinctive playmaker at the catch point. His three picks and 12 deflections in 2022 are supporting evidence of that.

That said, in such a strong CB class, you have to look at how Blackmon stacks up against other prospects on the board. At 5’11”, 178 pounds, he’s noticeably underweight, and that shows up both in support and in contested situations. He also lacks elite hip fluidity for his size, and he’ll be a 24-year-old rookie.

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