25. Minnesota Vikings: Jeff Gladney, CB, TCU
Although the Minnesota Vikings could benefit from getting better on either side of the trenches through either the NFL Draft or free agency, the biggest position of need will be at cornerback. They could potentially lose three cornerbacks to free agency if the likes of Trae Waynes can find a market.
Then there’s the Xavier Rhodes conundrum. Rhodes looked like a shadow of his former self in 2019, making his “Rhodes Closed” shutdown slogan seem a little redundant.
I don’t see anyway that the Vikings select anything other than a cornerback with this pick and for me, Jeff Gladney would be the best available at this point.
I really like his game.
He’s a highly competitive player who loves to be around the ball and will find a way to get to it. He doesn’t have the best pass-catching ability, as evidenced by relatively low interception numbers, but he has a knack of getting his hands on the ball. This was put to good use in 2019, as he led the Big 12 in pass break ups on his way to a first-team All-Big 12 honor.
It emerged at the NFL Combine that Gladney will have surgery on an injury he carried through the 2019 season. It didn’t hold him back in Indianapolis, putting up a 4.48 second 40-yard dash, and makes his performance in his final season for TCU even more impressive.