Minnesota Vikings: DeVante Parker is the Safe Pick

In the NFL Draft, there are players who are risky but with a high potential, and players who are safe with a “without-a-doubt” guaranteed solid NFL career. As the Minnesota Vikings close in on the draft, they have many options on what they should do. Come April 30, Teddy Bridgewater might be joined on the field by a familiar face.

Nov 16, 2013; Louisville, KY, USA; Louisville Cardinals wide receiver DeVante Parker (9) catches a pass in front of Houston Cougars defensive back Trevon Stewart (23) during the second half of play at Papa John

As a close friend and former teammate of Bridgewater, DeVante Parker already has a slight edge on other players in the draft. While this could be a main thought of why he would be drafted so high, Parker has much more to his résumé to give the Vikings every reason to select him.

Parker has been a top prospect for the past two years, his ability to grab the ball out of the air is almost unfathomable. His draft stock has always been high, even if he has work to do, he’s a great receiver with a very high ceiling.

In four total years at the University of Louisville, Parker totaled for 2,775 yards, and added 33 touchdowns in his career. He scored 12 touchdowns in his junior year, which tied Ibn Green for the most receiving touchdowns in one season in Louisville history.

In high school, he was a two-time all state selection. So it’s easy to tell that he started his dominance early in his career. Way before the Cardinal days.

The Louisville phenom is great while being contested. His body control is outstanding, sort of like the one and only Odell Beckham Jr. OBJ ran a 4.43 40-yard dash and Parker ran a 4.45, so it’s not always about speed. His ability to catch anything that comes his way is what really matters. He’s only dropped three balls since 2012, which is just insane.

His size is something that separates him from others. At 6’3″, he makes jump balls seem like routine catches in practice. Literally. Parker being a deep threat makes life so much easier for quarterbacks. He also runs with long strides but has work to do on his route running. He may have put up 225 pounds 17 times, but he still isn’t extremely explosive off the line. Which leads to some poor starts off the line when matched up with press coverage.

Parker would be the safest option for the Vikings. Compared to the cornerbacks Trae Waynes, and Marcus Peters, Parker has stayed out of trouble and would fit in and be an immediate impact. Not saying that Waynes or Peters wouldn’t be a great addition to team, because theres no doubt that they would. However, Parker would very well be the safest pick out of all of them.

Parker would fit in immediately with the Vikings. Being tall, a deep threat, and an end zone threat; he’s very versatile. Giving Bridgewater another threat to go with Mike Wallace would be a great one-two combination of receivers. Along with Charles Johnson, who at the end of the 2014 season showed great potential, the three of them could work very well together.

With the chemistry that Parker and Bridgewater have being former teammates, there’s a great chance that he would be the go-to guy on the team. While Wallace recorded a majority of his touchdowns last season in the red-zone, a dynamic duo within the 10 yard line would be pretty scary. If theres one word to describe Parker, it’s playmaker.

While Vikings fans could possibly be disappointed with Parker in the first round, he would certainly be no bust, though. He would do only great things in Minnesota, but other positions in the first round are probably more appealing. When it all comes down to it on April 30, there’s still a good chance Parker will be wearing purple and gold in 2015.

Next: Minnesota Vikings: Marcus Peters Worth the Risk?

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