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With the Rams pick of Brandon Scherff at 10 in the bag, Minnesota's on the clock. Take it away, STLcoach:
#11, Minnesota Vikings - Trae Waynes (CB, Michigan St.)
The Vikings enter the 2015 season with needs at offensive line, cornerback, wide receiver, and inside linebacker. Bridgewater was sacked 39 times last season and pressured on 39.9 percent of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. But over the years, NFL teams have shifted from drafting their biggest need in the 1st round to taking the best player on the board.
With the number 11 pick in the NFL draft, the Minnesota Vikings select Trae Waynes out of Michigan State. Waynes presents solid value with the 11th pick and is a perfect fit for Mike Zimmer’s defense. Pairing Waynes opposite Xavier Rhodes, creates a solid cornerback tandem in the NFC North which has some of the fiercest passing attacks in football. The Vikings signed veteran cornerback Terence Newman recently to reunite with Zimmer, and give Waynes the opportunity to progress into his starting role. Taking the best player on the board not only fulfills a need, but potentially gives the Vikings two top-tier corners. Like it or not, the NFL is a passing league and having Aaron Rodgers within your division, you can never have enough cornerbacks.
The question here, as Dan Kadar from Mocking the Draft laid out after Christopher Gates also took Waynes, was if the Vikings would be better served reuniting their franchise QB Terry Bridgewater with his top target at Louisville, WR DeVante Parker:
Parker could be the No. 1 wide receiver the Vikings currently don’t have on the roster. Mike Wallace isn’t that anymore. Charles Johnson and Cordarrelle Patterson are projects, to a degree. Even coming out of college, Parker seems like a sure thing. There’s nothing wrong with Waynes, but does a No. 2 cornerback make the team better than a player like Parker would?
Draft questions rarely have easy answers once you get down to the double digits.