At this point, most people probably expect the Minnesota Vikings to select further wide receiver help for quarterback Teddy Bridgewater with their first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Bridgewater, despite reaching the Pro Bowl last season, had little in the way of consistent pass-catching help available to him outside of surprisingly effective rookie Stefon Diggs. Really, a 14 touchdown-nine interception stat line should not be enough to land any quarterback in the Pro Bowl, but here we are.
However, if the Vikings decide to go in another direction, perhaps adding a safety that will finally allow them to truly unleash a more deserving Vikings Pro Bowler, safety Harrison Smith, they're going to have to do it early on in the upcoming draft because the deep secondary talent thins out quickly once you get past the first few guys.
Really, it's not that there aren't plenty of capable players down further in the draft, especially some with potentially high upsides like Darian Thompson, it's just that safety star power is limited to FSU's Jalen Ramsey (even if he is probably a corner), and potentially elite play probably can't be expected out of guys beyond WVU's Karl Joseph, Florida's Keanu Neal and Ohio State's Vonn Bell.
The Vikings already signed 31-year-old Michael Griffin this offseason with the expectation that he'd compete with Andrew Sendejo for the spot opposite Smith, but Sendejo (74 tackles, one interception, 0.5 sacks) is a low-upside guy, and Griffin's not getting any younger and hasn't reached a Pro Bowl since 2010.
"There's a couple safeties [that we like]," Vikings GM Rick Spielman said recently. "From a philosophy standpoint, we are looking for safeties that are interchangeable. They have to be able to do both. ... Can they be just as effective close to the line of scrimmage as they can be on the back end?"
For Joseph and Neal, there's no question of their ability to play near the line of scrimmage. Neal is a guy who plays with "blood in his eyes," and Joseph's playing style earned him the nickname "Hitman."
Both guys are plenty athletic - Neal posted a 132-inch vertical and a 7.89 3-cone drill, and Joseph's highlights are, well, insane - but each will come into the NFL with questions about their deep range, not their ability to set the tone or take down ballcarriers.
As for Bell, if the Vikings do indeed want a player that's versatile and interchangeable, he seems a good fit. That being said, while he brings man coverage talent, Bell's skillset is best suited for a zone scheme. Considering Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer likes to mix and match his coverage and play a lot of man, that may not be the preferred route.
In the end, the Vikings will have plenty of opportunities to add to the position, something that they're likely to do at some point. If they think some combination of Griffin and Sendejo can hold down the position for a year, maybe two, then waiting until the second or third round to find a future starter may not be a bad choice.
However, if they want immediate impact - and in the case of Neal and Joseph, that's literal impact - they may have to bite the bullet at No. 23, or find a way to trade back into the latter portion of the round or the early second and take one of the aforementioned guys.
