Cornerback Mekhi Blackmon used to line up against receiver Jordan Addison in daily practices at USC. Now they will continue to be teammates in the NFL.
Blackmon was selected with the final pick of the third round of the NFL draft on Friday, heading to the Minnesota Vikings with the 102nd overall selection. Minnesota selected Addison, the USC receiver, with its first-round pick on Thursday.
A graduate transfer from Colorado, Blackmon played one season with USC. He immediately took over as the Trojans’ top cornerback, using his physicality to harass opposing receivers. He defended 15 passes and recorded three interceptions to go with 66 tackles as an All-Pac-12 first-team selection.
Undersized at 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Blackmon did not enter the NFL draft as a prospect expected to be a Day 2 selection. But he ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash with a 1.54-second 10-yard split at the NFL combine, raising his stock just as he did at the College of San Mateo prior to Colorado.
He became the third Trojan selected in the 2023 NFL draft, joining Addison and Tuli Tuipulotu, the defensive lineman taken by the Chargers in the second round.
Blackmon took a pre-draft visit to Minnesota and is considered a good fit for defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ man-heavy scheme.
“Super instinctive corner,” Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said. “He’s one of those guys who throughout the route there’s a calculation going on at any moment. Plays really physical, plays with good vision on the ball. Somebody we’re really happy we got where we did.”
