Derek Stingley Jr. could potentially fall out of the top-10 and into the awaiting arms of the Minnesota Vikings with the No. 12 overall pick of the 2022 NFL draft. If he’s anything like the 2019 version of the player that had SEC receivers on an island, we could be looking at a top-five talent being overlooked for circumstances beyond his control.
This is a situation where overthinking things tends to get scouts and general managers into trouble.
In Stingley’s first two seasons, when he played in seven-plus games, he received first-team All-SEC honors. Those awards came when lining up with the best of the best in the toughest conference in college football.
And opposing quarterbacks were still afraid to throw to his side of the field.
He had 15 pass deflections and six interceptions when he was the budding freshman teams constantly made the mistake of trying to pick on. By the time his sophomore year rolled around, everyone had the memo that bad things usually happen when you throw in his direction.
Stingley was on top of the world at that point and probably could have been a top-three pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. But in the sport of football, where human bodies are constantly flying around like crash test dummies, there’s always going to be a luck factor that comes with the process of being drafted.
Talent and physical abilities will always be one side of the coin, while the other side can be broken down into two questions: Is the player healthy enough, and did he play in enough games to prove he’s sustainable?
The latter is obviously the issue for Stingley considering he missed three games during the 2020 COVID season, and he only played in three games last season after suffering a Lisfranc foot injury.
There is always going to be a certain degree of risk involved when drafting a player, but the objective is rolling the dice and beating the odds. Just on Stingley’s tape alone, it’s clear he’s one of the best defensive players in the draft.
But the ankle injury from 2020 coupled with the foot injury that ruined his 2021 campaign could lead to teams getting cold feet in using a top-10 draft pick on him.
In Vikings Wire’s recent mock draft roundup from around the league, it’s clear that Stingley is falling down draft boards with the Vikings being mocked the most as the likely team to select him. The pairing makes sense on paper considering the team still needs a young, high-end talent at cornerback to add to a struggling defensive backfield.
There’s also the LSU connection with corner Patrick Peterson and the hope that the future Hall of Famer could serve as somewhat of a mentor for Stingley in his NFL transition.
Stingley didn’t get to participate at the NFL Combine, but he was cleared by doctors to work out at LSU’s Pro Day on Wednesday. When speaking with reporters, he doubled down on his NFL readiness after an impressive showing.
“Nothing has changed over these past couple years,” said Stingley, via ESPN’s Mike Triplett. “…I’m still me, everything’s gonna be good.”
A vintage Stingley would be bad news for the teams forced to play against him and even worst news for the ones that willingly overlooked him.
