The Minnesota Vikings traded down, but then later traded back up in order to select Harrison Smith from Notre Dame. So in a busy NFL Draft night filled with trades, the Vikings were as busy as anybody
It’s rare for safeties to go very high overall, but Smith was the second safety taken in this draft. Mark Barron, from the Alabama Crimson Tide is the only one who might go ahead of him.
One of the biggest and tallest DBs at the combine, Smith measured well, and ran a 4.56. Had a nice bench press effort too.
His former backfield mate Robert Blanton, now listed at the combine as R.J. Blanton, did not do quite as well.
But it begs the question: what was up with the Irish pass defense this season being so bad, given how they had two DBs in the combine? I know covering for Gary Gray’s blown assignments is difficult, as Gray was one of the worst defensive backs in all of college football, but still.
Back to Smith, Mel Kiper on ESPN.com projected him as the 28th pick in the first round to the Green Bay Packers. I see Smith as a late first-round, early second round type prospect. I had him at 28th overall as well, but not to the team he went to, obviously. Cuz of all the trades. Even more than Michael Floyd, he’s a player who greatly improved his draft stock during his senior year in South Bend.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
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