2022 NFL Mock Draft: Malik Willis in the top 5, Cowboys get elite EDGE
By Randy Gurzi
Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Ahmad Gardner. 60. CB. Cincinnati. 18. player
18. Minnesota Vikings: Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati
It wasn’t supposed to be this soon when the Minnesota Vikings started looking for another cornerback. They felt as though the position was taken care of when they used the 31st pick in the 2020 draft on Jeff Gladney out of TCU.
However, Gladney is already out in Minnesota — and for good reason. In early April, CNN reported that he turned himself in to authorities on a felony family violence charge. Then in August, he was indicted on these charges, and on the same day, the Vikings released him.
Now, the Vikings will be turning to two veterans to start at cornerback with Patrick Peterson on one side and Bashaud Breeland on the other. Both can still play but they’re also each on a one-year deal, meaning they’re not the long-term answer.
Enter Ahmad Gardner from Cincinnati. Known as ‘Sauce’, Gardner is listed at 6-foot-2 and 188-pounds and is already proving to be a shutdown player. He’s one of the highest-graded coverage corners in the nation and the only way a team such as Minnesota doesn’t draft him here, is if he balls out so much in 2021 that he goes even higher. If that does happen, the Vikings will just have to take the next guy in line, but for now, Gardner lands with them.