Vikings selected USC CB Mekhi Blackmon with the No. 102 overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
A six-year college player, Blackmon (5’11/178) took a circuitous route to USC. He started at the College of Mateo in California before spending four years at Colorado and transferring to USC as a graduate before the 2022 season. While at CU he was a consistent contributor and Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 performer. His play reached another level with the Trojans in 2022, as he led the P12 with 15 PBU, which was three less than his entire four-year tenure with the Buffs, and 66 tackles en route to being named First Team All-Pac-12 with an elite 90.6 PFF defensive grade. Blackmon isn’t a speed demon, but his transitions are clean and he is adept at walling off receivers with proper body positioning. Noticeably active with his hands with pulls and tugs that might not fly at the next level, which could be a problem since he lacks ideal size. He does a good job dipping his shoulder and avoiding blockers in run support. His ramp up speed is elite as is evidenced by his 1.47 10-yard split (98th percentile), while the rest of his tests were average for a 7.44 RAS. Blackmon looks more comfortable outside than in the slot and could compete for reps quickly, but may not have the ceiling of his younger counterparts.
