When the Minnesota Vikings scuffled through the first quarter of the season, allowing 29 points to Green Bay, 27 points to Buffalo and 38 points to Los Angeles as part of a 1-2-1 start, many questioned Mike Zimmer’s secondary and Pro Bowler Xavier Rhodes in particular. The former All-Pro allowed 20 catches, 227 yards in Weeks 2-5, per Pro Football Focus. He was one of several culprits as the Vikings went nearly a month between wins.
Fast forward to Week 15 and the Vikings have managed to sneak into the top five in pass defense, while Rhodes has settled in despite being at less than 100 percent with hamstring and ankle injuries.
“It looks like he feels a lot more comfortable with what we’re doing schematically and the things that we’re asking him to do,” said defensive coordinator George Edwards, “He’s bounced back.”
As a whole, the Vikings defense adjusted following a rocky start where teams appeared to be outscheming them. After head coach Mike Zimmer took responsibility and said he would try to simplify some of his defensive calls, the Vikings have only allowed over 210 passing yards twice, and Rhodes hasn’t allowed more than 38 yards in coverage in any single game.
The sixth-year corner has allowed 39 receptions and 403 yards in coverage this season, putting him on pace to give 49 receptions and 504 yards allowed, nearly on track with his pace of 46/553 a season ago.
His best statistical year was 2016 when he allowed 36 catches for 429 yards, though he missed the first two games of the season.
After battling through early-season struggles in 2018, Rhodes is essentially permitting the same amount of production he has the previous seasons when the “Rhodes Closed” meme spread across the Twittersphere.
There are two more knocks on Rhodes that have generated social media frustration: penalties and injuries. But based on his recent body of work, those two elements may simply be part of his so-called Player Profile — not anomalies that will work themselves out.
With regard to flags, Rhodes picked up his seventh penalty of the year Monday night — two have been declined — when he grabbed Tyler Lockett’s arm for a pass interference call, even though Zimmer later said the receiver would’ve had to be an “Olympic triple-jumper” to catch the ball. The 31-yard penalty set up the Seahawks for a field goal to put them up 6-0.
Hand- and arm-grabbing has gotten Rhodes flagged numerous times over the years. Defensive backs coach Jerry Gray famously made Rhodes practice in boxing gloves to avoid holding receivers in coverage after he picked up 13 penalties in the 2015 season.
Rhodes has been charged with 30 accepted penalties over the last four years — plus eight more that were declined — per nflpenalties.com. But if Rhodes commits no more than one penalty in the final three games, it will be his least-flagged season since his truncated rookie year when he had five.
Zimmer says he still likes Rhodes’ physicality. Standing 6-foot-1 at the taller end of the cornerback spectrum, Rhodes using his long arms to pester wide receivers is part of his M.O.
“Some of it is when you’re a power forward, you have to play like a power forward,” Zimmer said. “Sometimes he gets a little too physical at times. That’s part of his game. So it probably won’t be the last time it happens. But we’re working with him on it all the time.”
And what about the injuries?
Zimmer deadpanned several weeks ago that he had several nicknames for Rhodes, who has routinely departed games with apparent injuries, only to return shortly after. Despite exiting numerous games during the 2018 season, Rhodes has only missed one in its entirety. He coaxed the Vikings to let him play in Week 12 against the Packers after initially being scratched, left that game with an ugly-looking hamstring injury in the fourth quarter, but still played 45 snaps against the New England Patriots the following week.
Rhodes has only missed three games since Zimmer arrived, despite repeated trips to the trainer’s table and appearances on the injury report.
“Everybody knows,” said Zimmer, “that’s just Xavier.”
After playing in 95 percent or more of snaps in every game of the 2015 season, Rhodes has only done that 18 times in the last three years combined. He’s played below 80 percent of snaps 11 times in that span, but remarkably never below 60 percent.
Some of that is from normal cornerback rotation. Some is from the team remaining cautious with Rhodes amidst injury.
Ultimately, the injuries, the penalties and the production this season have been consistent with the play we’ve come to expect from Rhodes. About four times a year he’ll spend a quarter of the game on the sideline, and every two games he’ll commit a penalty. But he’ll continually hold elite opposing receivers to three catches and 30 yards — often less. Per PFF, he allowed just one reception each against Tom Brady and Russell Wilson.
“He was nicked up a little bit in those [last] games,” said Zimmer. But he seems good now.”
A healthier Rhodes down the stretch could be vital to the Vikings’ playoff push, even if he tweaks muscles and grabs receivers’ arms on occasion.
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