2012 NFL Combine: 7 DBs the Vikings Should Consider After the Combine

As the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine wound down Tuesday in Indianapolis with the defensive backs working out, you can be sure the Minnesota Vikings were taking their share of notes.

To say that defensive back is an area of need for the Vikings is like saying the sky is blue. Minnesota's secondary was comically bad in the 2011 season. In addition to setting a league record by going nine straight games without an interception, Minnesota's secondary ranked near the bottom of the league in nearly every measurable statistic.

The Vikings started 11 different cornerbacks and safeties during the season and none of them performed very well. Minnesota ranked 29th in the league when opponents targeted their No. 1 receiver, 30th when they targeted their No. 2 receiver and dead last when all other receivers were targeted.

While most everyone is assuming the Vikings will go after some secondary help via free agency, whether it be Carlos Rogers, Cortland Finnegan or Brandon Carr, the Vikings will almost certainly draft anywhere from two to four defensive backs as well.

Not a lot of surprises came out of the combine concerning the DBs, and while it might be a long shot that the Vikings end up with Morris Claiborne with their first pick, Minnesota can rest easy if that's the case, as Claiborne was clearly the best of the group.

Here's a group of seven other defensive backs the Vikings should have their eyes on as we head towards April's draft.

Janoris Jenkins, CB, North Alabama

Athletically, Janoris Jenkins has just about every single trait NFL teams are looking for in a cornerback. 

Though only 5'10", Jenkins weighs a solid 193 pounds and probably had the best overall combine among defensive backs. He ran a 4.4 40 and was among the fastest players tested in the first 10 yards.

More importantly, Jenkins simply aced the eyeball test. His back-peddling and change of direction looked fluid and effortless. He stays low and accelerates out of breaks. Jenkins is physically strong and will be able to jam receivers at the line and he has all the speed and quickness you'd want to be able to stay with the best of receivers.

Watching all the DBs work out, just about anyone who watches sports at all would have pointed to Jenkins and Morris Claiborne as the two best on the field.

But while Claiborne will be one of the first seven players off the board come April, Jenkins will fall. How far he falls will be crucial to the Vikings, and if he's still on the board when the Vikings use their second pick, they shouldn't hesitate to grab him.

No doubt about it, Jenkins has some red flags. Kicked off of Florida after three different arrests, he played last season at North Alabama. The 23-year-old has four children with four different women. Jenkins didn't try to pull any punches at the combine, he owned up to past mistakes and said all the right things to try to impress upon teams that he's changed his ways.

Teams will wonder. Claiborne, Dre Kirkpatrick and possibly Stephon Gilmore will be picked before Jenkins. It's a long shot that 34 players will be picked before him, he's just too good, but strange things tend to happen on draft day, and in Jenkins, the Vikings would be getting a top 12 talent.

Stephon Gilmore, CB, South Carolina

Stephon Gilmore might be moving up draft boards faster than any other defensive back. 

The 6'0", 190-pounder out of South Carolina is dripping with athletic ability. His 4.44 40 and work in the shuttle and three-cone drills were everything scouts were hoping for out of him at the combine. Gilmore is a bit raw as a defender, having played corner for just three years in college after excelling in high school as a quarterback.

What scouts see when they look at Gilmore, however, is a player who will keep getting better. He's a phenomenal athlete and has great football instincts. He had a few drops at the combine that might have raised some eyebrows among those who take the combine way too seriously.

The Vikings have to hope Gilmore is still on the board after Round 1, and they could pencil him in as an immediate starter if they were able to get him at the top of the second round.

Jamelle Fleming, CB, Oklahoma

There's no two ways about it, the Minnesota Vikings are kind of sitting in an odd spot with their second pick, the 35th of the draft.

While logic says they almost have to go secondary here, there are about 5-7 cornerbacks who rate out as good enough to be second-round picks, but taking any of them with the third pick of the second round might be a bit of a reach. In a perfect world, either Jenkins or Gilmore would fall to Minnesota here, but rarely is draft day a perfect word.

I'm listing Oklahoma's Jamelle Fleming here first because I thought he had the most impressive combine of a bunch that includes Chase Minnifield, Alfonzo Dennard, Casey Hayward, Brandon Boykin, Trumaine Johnson and Jayron Hosely.

It's a precarious spot for the Vikings because betting that any of the above will still be around come Round 3 might be quite a gamble for a team so desperate for help at cornerback.

As for Fleming's particulars, he's 5'11", 192 pounds, with a ripped upper body. He moved very well in all of the drills and caught everything thrown at him. 

Chase Minnifield, CB, Virginia

I'll continue to beat the drum for Chase Minnifield, the corner out of Virginia who didn't do much at the combine due to a lingering knee injury.

Among all of the corners I listed in the last slide, Minnifield has the highest football IQ, and putting all the measurements aside, he might just be the best football player in the bunch.

Renowned at Virginia for his football study—nobody spent more time in the film room—Minnifield is a football lifer, growing up with the game around his father, four-time Pro Bowler Frank Minnifield.

At 6'0", 188 pounds, Minnifield normally runs around a 4.45 40 and has long arms for his frame, which is always a plus in the secondary. But again, the biggest plus for Minnifield is that he just flat out knows how to play football. He takes great angles, he knows how to jam receivers off the line, he can tackle and he's a model citizen. 

With 13 career picks at Virginia, the Vikings would do well to pair Minnifield with his former Cavalier teammate Chris Cook, who might find the mature Minnifield to be a help in his own maturation process.

Trumaine Johnson, CB, Montana

Trumaine Johnson would bring something to the Vikings secondary that they severely lack, size and athleticism. At just a hair under 6'2" and 204 pounds, Johnson has a swagger about him that the Vikings DBs have lacked for some time.

Coming out of the University of Montana, Johnson didn't play quite the competition of the others on this list, but he showed enough athletic ability at the combine and was clearly one of the better corners on the field in Indianapolis.

With his size and his 40 time being on the slow side for corners, it's not out of the question that Johnson could become a candidate to play safety, but with the Vikings needing help at all of the secondary spots, they could easily find a place for a player like Johnson.

Markelle Martin, S, Oklahoma State

At 6'1", 195 pounds, Oklahoma State's Markelle Martin is the type of intelligent athlete the Vikings need to add to their secondary.

Martin was the anchor of a Cowboys defense that was known for getting turnovers, something the Minnesota defense is sorely lacking.

Martin has good size and speed and excelled in the classroom at Oklahoma State. He's a leader, and that's something the Vikings back end is in need of. Martin is probably a fourth- or even fifth-round talent, but may come off the board higher than that because this is such a weak year for safeties.

Josh Robinson, CB, Central Florida

At 5'10", 195 pounds, Josh Robinson has good physical traits to be a cornerback in the NFL. Heading into the combine, the thought was that Robinson would have to run well to improve his draft stock.

Mission accomplished. 

Robinson blazed through the 40 in a combine best 4.33 and had the second fastest time in the three-cone drill at 6.55. Once thought to be a fifth- or sixth-round talent, Robinson will probably move up boards after his performance in Indianapolis.

Robinson will have to improve his technique and general football IQ at the next level, but with that kind of speed, most NFL coaches would love to bring him in and then figure it out from there.

With the Vikings needing so much help in the secondary, using a fifth-round pick on a prospect like Robinson would be a big upgrade to what they have on hand.