With the first of their two first-round selections in the NFL draft on Thursday night, the Vikings used the biggest prize they acquired in the Stefon Diggs trade to select his replacement.
After trading back six spots, they found a first-round cornerback to replace the ones they'd let leave this spring.
They selected LSU's Justin Jefferson with the 22nd overall pick, adding a receiver many expected to be gone by the time the Vikings were on the clock.
Then, with a number of options still available to them at No. 25 overall, they acquired the 117th and 176th overall picks from the 49ers to move back to No. 31, where they took TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney.
The 6-foot-1 Jefferson frequently lined up in the slot in college, but the Vikings could look to move him and Adam Thielen around to a number of spots as they recreate their passing game with Diggs in Buffalo.
Jefferson caught 111 passes and posted 1,540 yards for the national champions, while playing with Heisman Trophy winner (and No. 1 overall pick) Joe Burrow. He flashed a 37 {-inch vertical jump and a 4.43-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine, putting himself in position to go in the first round of a draft thought to be one of the deepest in NFL history at wide receiver.
In a photo provided by ESPN Images, ESPN provides coverage of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 23, 2020, in Bristol, Conn. (Allen Kee/ESPN Images via AP)
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He figures to add a dynamic element to a receiving group that lost its most productive wideout from a year ago, after the Vikings dealt Diggs and a seventh-rounder to Buffalo for four picks last month. The team had signed former Titans receiver Tajae Sharpe in free agency, but needed another option who could take attention away from Thielen and replace some of Diggs' big-play ability on downfield throws.
Gladney stands just 5-foot-10, but rated as one of the best cover corners in the draft thanks to his tenacious style of play at TCU. He could be asked to contribute early in a revamped secondary, as either a nickel cornerback or an outside corner who's unafraid to press bigger receivers.
The draft _ conducted with team executives in their own homes across the country and Commissioner Roger Goodell announcing picks from his basement in New York _ went without a trade in the first 12 picks, before the Buccaneers moved up one spot to No. 13 overall and selected Tristan Wirfs. The Iowa product became the fourth tackle selected in the first 13 picks, with the Vikings nine picks away from potentially selecting a lineman at No. 22 overall. USC's Austin Jackson was the fifth lineman taken by the Dolphins at No. 18.
The second 10 picks of the draft also saw a run on receivers, as Alabama's Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy went before Oklahoma's CeeDee Lamb. And after the Jaguars took Florida cornerback C.J. Henderson ninth overall, the Falcons selected Clemson cornerback A.J. Terrell 16th overall, taking another player off the board that might have been a fit in Minnesota had he lasted until the 22nd overall pick.
According to an NFL source, the team had talked with the Raiders about moving up from No. 22 to the 19th pick, but Las Vegas was asking for the Vikings' second-rounder (No. 58 overall) to complete the deal. Instead, the Vikings chose the road they've taken more frequently during Rick Spielman's tenure as general manager, moving back in exchange for more options on the third day of the draft.
