One of the more interesting pieces of news from the first week of the Minnesota Vikings training camp has been that Jeff Okudah, the No. 3-overall pick in 2020, has been taking most of the first-team reps in nickel packages. The Vikings’ top two CBs, Byron Murphy Jr. and free-agent signee Isaiah Rodgers, were expected to take those spots, but many, including myself, expected third-year Mekhi Blackmon to start out as the team’s third CB.
Instead, it seems like the only reps Blackmon has really seen with the first team were after Rodgers was off the field with a minor injury, alongside Okudah and Murphy:
When the Vikings signed Okudah, I didn’t have high expectations for him. They gave him a fully guaranteed contract, clearly indicating that he would make the team. However, at just $2.35 million, the amount involved suggested a rotational player. I also struggled, just based on Okudah’s history, to see him as a significant contributor. While he was obviously a high draft pick, injuries derailed his first two seasons. After that, he started for the Detroit Lions for most of 2022, but they clearly didn’t think highly of him, trading him to the Atlanta Falcons for a fifth-round pick.
The Falcons had Okudah start for about half the season, but they benched him due to his performance. He only played 26 snaps over the team’s final five games in 2023. Okudah then landed with the Houston Texans in 2024, where he only played 77 defensive snaps. He didn’t even see the field on defense until Week 11 as injuries mounted for Houston.
As someone who is admittedly not high on Blackmon, even I was surprised to see Okudah getting play over him. Okudah has been in the league longer, but this is Blackmon’s third year in Minnesota’s system, while Okudah just joined the team. From reading camp reporting, I don’t get the impression that injury recovery is the reason Blackmon hasn’t been a higher priority.
All of that leads back to the conclusion that the Vikings are high on Okudah’s abilities. Brian Flores has been very complimentary in his press conferences about him.
Before working on this piece, I hadn’t conducted any tape study on Okudah. For full transparency, when he signed, my editor asked me if I wanted to write a piece on him. Based on what I understood from his time in Atlanta and Houston, I didn’t have high expectations, so I chose to work on a different piece.
But now Okudah has forced my hand. I went back to watch his tape. I think it’s essential to acknowledge that, as you may have inferred from the introduction, I didn’t have high expectations going into this exercise. Still, I really tried not to let that affect my reading of what I saw on film.
Okudah’s role
As I mentioned, Okudah’s first defensive snaps in 2024 came against the Dallas Cowboys. He played three snaps early in the game, and then didn’t see the field again until well into garbage time. After that, he played exclusively in Dime (six DB) packages, which the Texans only used on third-and-long or fourth down, against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins.
He played 38 snaps against the Kansas City Chiefs, almost half of his season total. His first two snaps were also in Dime on third-and-long, but he played full-time in Nickel (five DBs) once Jimmie Ward went down with an injury. He resumed his primarily third-down role against the Baltimore Ravens, playing just five snaps until garbage time, when the Texans were down 31-2.
Okudah was the ninth DB on Houston’s depth chart and the fifth CB. It took injuries to D’Angelo Ross and Ka’dar Hollman at CB for Okudah to even see the field in Dime. It took further injuries to Jalen Pitre and Jimmie Ward, safeties who also play a slot role, for Okudah to see the field in the Chiefs game.
As far as what he was asked to do, the Texans primarily played press-man coverage on third-and-long. There are several good press representatives to evaluate Okudah. He played off coverage and zone, often in Cover 3, but in some situations with flat responsibility, especially on third downs.
Let’s dive into the tape.
tape study
Unfortunately, Okudah had a major blemish three plays into his season. On the play below against the Cowboys, he’s in the slot at the bottom of the screen, in man coverage on KaVontae Turpin. Turpin takes an initial outside step, but then cuts inside on a slant route. Okudah finds himself completely out of position, allowing a 64-yard TD.
Now, this probably shouldn’t be a TD. Jalen Pitre, the hole player, seems to abandon that side of the field, and the deep safety also works himself out of position, but Okudah still clearly loses the rep. The key reason is that he’s too reactive to Turpin’s initial stem and opens his hips towards the sideline, which puts him a step behind as he tries to turn back inside for the slant. That means Turpin, who is very fast, could just accelerate away from him for the TD.
If you can slow down the video or pause it, watch how Derek Stingley Jr., one of the best cornerbacks in the game, plays compared to Okudah. You can see Stingley wait a full beat longer than Okudah does to open his hips, giving himself more time to read his opponent’s route.
Overcommitment on press coverage came up multiple times in Okudah’s tape. He also had a whiff against Xavier Worthy. At the top of the screen on the first play below, he leans too far forward and is unable to quickly get depth underneath Worthy in his zone.
Because he has to scramble backwards, Patrick Mahomes can dump the ball off underneath for a successful play. On the second play, he’s in the slot at the top of the screen against River Cracraft. He gets fooled by Cracraft’s initial inside stem, and then stumbles a little while trying to turn vertically. That allows Cracraft to separate easily, even if the throw didn’t go his way.
To me, this overcommitment is the hallmark of Okudah’s game. It reminds me of the reasons Andrew Booth Jr. failed with the Vikings. He’s also not as fluid as I would have expected from a former top pick. There are multiple instances where he failed to turn well with his opponent. It’s essential to note that the players he was competing against weren’t among the league’s best.
In the compilation below, he gets beaten by:
- Parker Washington, who he’s lined up against in off coverage at the bottom of the screen
- Justin Watson, who he’s lined up against in off coverage at the top of the screen
- Anthony Miller, who’s near the line of scrimmage at the bottom of the screen
- And Devontez Walker, who he’s lined up against in press at the bottom of the screen
Still, Okudah has some examples of smooth hips on his tape, following receivers on routes with multiple breaks. On the first play below, he does a really good job of staying in phase with JuJu Smith-Schuster, who he’s pressed up against at the bottom of the screen. On the second play, he’s in off coverage at the top of the screen and able to catch Rashod Bateman and stick with him through multiple breaks, deterring a throw on the scramble drill.
I think the difference in performance may be the read Okudah is getting on the route. If he anticipates a move by an opponent, I think he’s able to cover it. It’s when he fails to see what’s happening that he can overcommit and get out of position. The play below, where Okudah is in off coverage at the bottom of the screen against Jonathan Mingo, is another example where Okudah smothers a route, flipping his hips in time with Mingo’s break and getting in great position to deflect a potential pass.
However, it’s worth noting that Mingo’s route details are not particularly sharp on the play. He leans inside rather than taking a hard line, and keeps his pads up as he turns towards the corner, indicating a break back to the ball (for more detail on what a quality route would look like, read my piece on Tai Felton). Still, Okudah should be commended for correctly reading the play. Maybe he simply needs more consistent time on the field to start reading routes better, and therefore let his athleticism show up more often.
The play below also suggests that additional system experience could help Okudah.
On this play, the Texans have to respond to a three-route concept from a bunch formation. Okudah is lined up in off coverage as the bottom defender on the screen. They end up leaving DeAndre Hopkins open underneath on third-and-eight, and he has enough space that he gets the first down.
I believe that Hopkins was Okudah’s responsibility on the play, and that Okudah simply played it too soft. He’s overly focused on the two routes to the inside, which are covered by the slot and an LB, and that means he doesn’t try to drive to tackle Hopkins until it’s too late.
NFL defenses are complicated and have many rules to adjust to different formations. The Chiefs are in 4×1 on the play above, which is difficult to defend. Okudah’s lack of experience in the defense, as a deep depth player, likely hurt his ability to adjust to that formation. Since he’s getting significant reps with the Vikings in training camp, that should help him avoid mental mistakes.
The part of Okudah’s game I liked the most was his physicality. At 6’1″, 205 lbs. with 32 5/8″ arms, Okudah is a physically imposing player. That kind of size is something the Vikings lack elsewhere in their CB room. Okudah also plays big. I thought the rep below was a good indication of his physical ability, even if it wasn’t a win.
On the play, he gets a hand on Hopkins, who he’s lined up against in press coverage at the bottom of the screen, and drives him to the sideline. Hopkins uses his veteran savvy to disengage and make a toe-tap catch on the sideline. However, to me, Okudah had the advantage on the play up until the catch point. The late separation Hopkins gets is more of an issue with Okudah’s route anticipation, which I covered above, than his physicality.
I also thought Okudah was physical when taking on blocks or tackling on short passes. On this play, he comes downhill and takes on a WR’s block, knocking his opponent backwards, before making the tackle on Turpin after the screen. The play did allow a third-down conversion, but Okudah couldn’t do anything to prevent that from his off coverage position at the bottom of the screen.
Unfortunately, I also think Okudah’s tackling currently lacks the nuance he needs to be an every-down player. There were instances where he made a willing tackle attempt but got the details of the tackle wrong. On the first play below, he’s lined up about three yards off the line of scrimmage at the top of the screen. He tries to tackle Jonnu Smith, who is running across the field after catching the ball, but doesn’t wrap up and ends up bouncing off of Smith for a missed tackle.
On the second play, which I highlighted when discussing Okudah’s press technique, he does a good job of driving on the ball after it’s completed to the flat. I like that he also breaks down to try to make the tackle on Kareem Hunt, but he’s out of position, in my opinion.
I think he needs to be further towards the sideline. When tackling a ball carrier in the open field, especially on an underneath throw against zone, defenders are typically taught to “vice” the ball carrier. That means that one defender approaches from the outside, and the other approaches from the inside.
On this play, Okudah’s responsibility is hook/flat, with a linebacker to the inside of him with a hook/curl responsibility. Because Okudah is to the outside, he should approach Hunt from that direction and not let him reach the sideline. He ends up making a shoestring tackle, but he leaves Hunt a lot of space on the sideline.
At this point in his career, Hunt doesn’t have the balance of a top-end RB, and I expect a better player would have been able to break the tackle and keep running here.
summary
Unfortunately, after watching the tape, I really struggle to see Jeff Okudah making a significant positive impact on the Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 season. I think he struggles to anticipate opponents’ routes, which leads to him being out of position when the ball is thrown, and also allows separation when lined up in press.
I think Okudah still has some athletic ability that he could capitalize on if his understanding of the game improves. He shows fluid hips and enough speed to cover opponents vertically. He’s a physical player with good strength for the CB position, which should help him play in a rugged manner against more powerful opponents. That’s a skillset the Vikings need, so hopefully he’s able to provide it if he improves in other areas.
From an effort perspective, I don’t have any questions. Okudah is willing to throw his body in there against the run and take on blocks. He just needs to develop better positioning and technique when tackling.
Right now, I think Okudah’s processing issues hold him back from being a player I want to see getting consistent snaps on defense. I don’t know if that’s something that can be fixed in the course of a single offseason. If the Vikings truly play Okudah often, which is what it seems like from the first week of camp, let’s hope they can.
