Two Rounder From The Athletic

Yes it is.

12. Minnesota Vikings — Ahmad Gardner, CB, CincinnatiOpinions are split around the league if Gardner belongs in the top-15 or if he should come off the board in the back-half of round one. The Cincinnati corner was a three-year starter and didn’t give up a touchdown in over 1,100 coverage snaps in college. Gardner gets a little handsy, but he has the long-striding speed and hip-flip to stay on top of routes.

33. Jacksonville Jaguars — Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida
34. Detroit Lions — Roger McCreary, CB, Auburn
35. New York Jets — Bernhard Raimann, OT/G, Central Michigan
36. New York Giants — Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
37. Houston Texans — Kenneth Walker, RB, Michigan State
38. New York Jets (from Carolina) — Trey McBride, TE, Colorado State
39. Chicago Bears — George Pickens, WR, Georgia
40. Denver Broncos — Myjai Sanders, edge, Cincinnati
41. Seattle Seahawks — Daniel Faalele, OT, Minnesota
42. Washington Football Team — Darian Kinnard, OT/G, Kentucky
43. Atlanta Falcons — Malik Willis, QB, Liberty
44. Cleveland Browns — Drake Jackson, edge, USC
45. Baltimore Ravens — Nicholas Petit-Frere, OT, Ohio State
46. Minnesota Vikings — Kingsley Enagbare, edge, South Carolina

I doubt Elam makes it out of the first. Don't know anything about Enagbare.

Flexibility: Enagbare is loose enough to run the arc and corner, but labeling him overly bendy is too aggressive. He does a good job of reducing his upper half to work around the edges of blocks when the angle is softened. Around the near hip, he does well to flatten, lean into the rush angle, and finish with efficient footwork and a strong understanding of rush angles. He has good ankle flexion. 
Hand Counters: Enagbare is excellent at converting speed to power to set up his rush plan. Combining that with his efficiency winning around the near hip with a blend of inside moves makes him a really effective pass rusher. He competes to work counters and clear contact but still has room to grow with timing, placement, and variety. 
Length: Enagbare has good length and does well to use it as a pass rusher in terms of landing his hands and keeping separation to execute his rush plan. His bull rush is largely effective due to his length. I would like to see it show up more when tackling in space and affecting passing lanes. 
Hand Power: Enagbare has firm hands that aren’t easily displaced. When he locates his hands, there is notable pop and strength behind them. His placement and power in his hands when executing a bull rush are outstanding. 
Run Defending: Enagbare is inconsistent maintaining his run fits, especially when playing 5-technique. There are so many positive reps where he plays with leveraged hips, extension, and fights for his gap, but some lapses in block recognition and processing find him rooted out of gaps. He has to be careful to not get caught peeking into the backfield, which forces him to lose leverage and enables blockers to take control of reps.
Effort (Motor): Enagbare competes and battles on every snap and is never content being blocked. Because of that sustained effort, he’s able to make plays in the backfield and a fair amount of his sacks have been due to his motor staying cranked. He does dial it up to a higher level at times, but I didn’t come away disappointed in his effort from my exposures. 
Football IQ: Engabare has room for improvement when it comes to processing and play recognition skills. There are too many instances of him failing to read blocks in the run game and he concedes his gap because he gets reached. There are times when he is peeking in the backfield and loses track of his positioning on the field. 
Lateral Mobility: Enagbare’s athleticism is more impressive in linear situations. While he isn’t deficient when it comes to lateral mobility, he isn’t springy when changing directions. He isn’t an ideal option to be used in space with frequency. 
Versatility: Enagabare has experience as an even front defensive end and 3-4 outside linebacker. In 2021, it felt like he was primarily in a two-point stance as a rush linebacker. He is a more effective pass rusher than run defender, although he isn’t lacking the physical traits to be a good run defender, he just has to process it better. 
Prospect Comparison: Darrell Taylor (2020 NFL Draft, Seattle Seahawks)
SCOUT GRADES
TDN Consensus: To Be Determined

Unless something happens on the QB front, CB seems like a lock in the first round or 2. DE makes sense too. Getting a pedigreed prospect there would be nice. No clue what we have in Jones and Robinson yet, unfortunately.

With so many holes on defense I’m not sure IOL is getting much of an upgrade this offseason. Probably another year of blindly hoping Bradbury gets good. 

@"pattersaur" said: Unless something happens on the QB front, CB seems like a lock in the first round or 2. DE makes sense too. Getting a pedigreed prospect there would be nice. No clue what we have in Jones and Robinson yet, unfortunately.

With so many holes on defense I’m not sure IOL is getting much of an upgrade this offseason. Probably another year of blindly hoping Bradbury gets good. 

CB is my preferred first target and that pick would make me happy. 

How about DT? The heart of the defense and nothing at that position for a long time. Pierce should be gone and tomlinson is a JAG.

@"kmillard" said: How about DT? The heart of the defense and nothing at that position for a long time. Pierce should be gone and tomlinson is a JAG.

I dont know if Pierce has been great or not?

I do know he hasn't played nearly enough in 2 full seasons.

He and Tomlinson have overall been a disappointment imo. 

@"Havoc1649" said: CB is my preferred first target and that pick would make me happy. 

@"Havoc1649" said: CB is my preferred first target and that pick would make me happy. 

Bitter we have to draft one looking for a starter and Sweet if we find that guy. 

@"purplefaithful" said: I dont know if Pierce has been great or not?

I do know he hasn't played nearly enough in 2 full seasons.

He and Tomlinson have overall been a disappointment imo. 

@"JustinTime18™" said:

@"purplefaithful" said: I dont know if Pierce has been great or not?

I do know he hasn't played nearly enough in 2 full seasons.

He and Tomlinson have overall been a disappointment imo. 

Not to give credence to PFF, but they both fared well there. Apparently the edges are were we really had issues in the run game. Looking forward to seeing what new coaches can do.

Both DT and Pierce graded out very well, with Pierce at nearly an elite level. The run problems, according to one study I read, were more about gap discipline and poor run support from the edges. Both will be back. And the depth is good with Watts and Lynch, not to mention Twyman coming back from NFI. 

If the Vikings take anything but DE or CB I'd be shocked. 

Gap discipline along the DL or back 7? 

Thats coaching...

@"purplefaithful" said: Gap discipline along the DL or back 7? 

Thats coaching...

But HERE is that article on our run defense issues. 

CB and DE

Outside of the QB situation, these two must be the two picks.  

This past defense would have won 3-4 more games if there was a good CB instead of Breeland, and a productive edge that handled the run well

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"purplefaithful" said: Gap discipline along the DL or back 7? 

Thats coaching...

I tend to think Zimmer's scheme was sound, but I do think there was a disconnect between players and coaches. Some too young to get it. Some maybe not caring much. Zimmer pissing everyone off. 

But HERE is that article on our run defense issues.