Vikings general manager Rick Spielman made Alexander the only selection Friday, giving head coach Mike Zimmer another cornerback to groom for success.
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“I’m extremely excited about that. There’s nobody more dedicated than me, who’s put more time in or is more of a competitor than me”, Alexander said. “I’m just eager to be around him and willing to learn”. Jalen Ramsey gave up five and Eli Apple four just for comparison and I think those two are great cornerbacks, especially Ramsey, so two is pretty darn good.
He was a Third Team All-American and a First-Team All ACC defensive back and was just the 5th cornerback taken overall. One major knock against him is that he failed to record an interception in two years at Clemson. A fluid, explosive athlete with 4.49 speed and a 37 1/2-inch vertical, Alexander plays with an infectious swagger and is at his best in press-man coverage.
A year ago, the Vikings took a cornerback in the first round of the National Football League draft.
This was the second straight year the Vikings used the fourth round to take a tackle, after picking Pittsburgh’s T.J. Clemmings in 2015.
Spielman said there were a few players available in the third round that the team liked, but he felt there was enough depth going into the final day on Saturday that he couldn’t pass up Miami’s significant offer. He will make it a point to show each one how big a mistake they made last night and I can’t wait to watch that.
Beavers started every game at left tackle last season as a fifth-year senior for Western Michigan, earning a first team All-Mid-American Conference selection.
Spielman said he wasn’t concerned about Alexander’s lack of interceptions in college, citing that he wasn’t thrown to all that often because of his ability to blanket and negate opposing receivers. “Whatever the Vikings want me to do, I’m ready for it”.
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Alexander also told the assembled media to check the stat sheet if they doubted him. “And that criteria, he checks the box in”. The Broncos finished 8-5 after the program’s first post-season victory, over Middle Tennessee in the Bahamas Bowl.
