Look at the Minnesota Vikings’ cornerback room from a year ago. It’ll look familiar but different, like your living room before you rearranged the furniture.
- Byron Murphy – final season of a two-year contract
- Shaquill Griffin – signed as a free agent
- Mekhi Blackmon – 2023 third-rounder
- Khyree Jackson – 2024 fourth-rounder
- Akayleb Evans – 2022 fourth-rounder
- Andrew Booth Jr. – 2022 first-rounder
- Jaylin Williams – undrafted in 2023
I’ve listed them roughly in the order I felt they were on the depth chart. However, given where they ended the season last season, it’s hard to know how to rank them accurately.
In July, Khyree Jackson tragically passed away in a car accident. The Vikings drafted him at age 24 and expected him to produce immediately. However, we’ll never know the impact he would have had on the field.
Still, the team felt his presence all year. They wore 31 patches, dedicated a locker stall to him, and had 31 painted on the practice field and gameday fields.
Below is how the rest of the players’ seasons went.
- Murphy had a career year and signed a three-year extension.
- Griffin played in all 17 games, but the Vikings didn’t re-sign him. He’s still a free agent.
- Blackmon tore his ACL on the first day of training camp and missed the season.
- Evans played seven games for the Vikings before they waived him.
- The Vikings traded Booth to the Dallas Cowboys in August.
- They released Williams in September, and he finished the season in the Canadian Football League.
So, how did the Vikings win 14 games last year? How did Brian Flores’ defense go from feasting on mediocre quarterbacks to dominating elite ones?
Having Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, and Josh Metellus in the backfield helps. So did an improved pass rush with Jonathan Greenard, and Andrew Van Ginkel’s pick-sixes. However, pass rush and safety help alone don’t explain it.
Stephon Gilmore, 34, signed with the Vikings in August and started 15 games, and Fabian Moreau played seven games in a depth role.
That’s it.
Well, kinda.
Flores revamped his defensive scheme. With better defensive personnel, he built upon the rush-six/drop-eight scheme that the Cincinnati Bengals solved in Week 15 two years ago. Flores still relied on the blitz, but presented multiple looks and covered the flats more effectively.
Ultimately, the Vikings were a shock to Aaron Rodgers’ system. They baffled Kirk Cousins and beat Jordan Love twice. Only Ben Johnson’s Detroit Lions and Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford seemed to solve it.
The Vikings chose to bolster the offensive line instead of corner in the first round, and didn’t draft anyone at the position. Look at the group now, and it’s fair to wonder what they have behind Murphy.
- Blackmon coming off injury.
- Isaiah Rodgers – played 15 games (three starts) with the Philadelphia Eagles last year.
- Ambry Thomas – played 42 games (11 starts) in the past three years with the San Francisco 49ers.
- Jeff Okudah – former third-overall pick who’s battled injuries throughout his career.
- Dwight McGlothern – played five games, mostly on special teams, last year.
However, that’s just how the room looks now. Let Flores in there and work some magic; you probably won’t recognize it by the end of the season.
