Minnesota Vikings coaching camp kicks off in lower than every week, and amongst many central objects, one obvious thriller nonetheless stands off the web page.
The Vikings head into coaching camp with one massive thriller nonetheless up within the air. It’s a place that might form 2025, and there’s no clear-cut reply but.
The membership at the moment showcases a largely dazzling roster, solely restricted within the court docket of public opinion by quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s inexperience.
And whereas McCarthy’s improvement will pique followers’ curiosity to the utmost, onlookers want a verdict on the cornerback room — is the group secure sufficient for Tremendous Bowl competition?
Vikings Cornerbacks Include Query Marks
As at the moment assembled, people marvel if the CB unit will do the trick.
Are the Present Cornerbacks Sufficient for a Tremendous Bowl-Contending Staff?
Vikings normal supervisor Kwesi Adofo-Mensah utilized free company and the 2025 NFL Draft to restore his decent-but-not-great offensive and defensive trenches. Followers rejoiced. No person complained. It felt like a dream come true.
However relating to the CB room, Adofo-Mensah appeared to depend on gamers’ upside(s) — like he did in 2024 when signing Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard. That experiment paid off.
Now, after signing veterans Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah, Vikings devoted merely hope that the CB room has the juice to contend for a Tremendous Bowl. The remainder of the depth chart is in good condition and doesn’t have loaded query marks.
One should ask herself, is that this CB conglomeration the meal ticket?
- Byron Murphy Jr.
- Isaiah Rodgers
- Mekhi Blackmon
- Jeff Okudah
- Dwight McGlothern
- Ambry Thomas
- Tavierre Thomas
- Reddy Steward
- Kahlef Hailassie
- Keenan Garber
- Zemaiah Vaughn
The Possible Isaiah Rodgers Religion
By mid-August — hopefully, for the staff’s sake — Isaiah Rodgers can be on a agency observe to start out in September, and few will care in regards to the cornerback room’s alleged weaknesses.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has endorsed Rodgers all through the offseason, a participant he’s evidently adopted carefully since Rodgers’ days on the College of Massachusetts. However Rodgers has by no means been featured as a long-term starter with any staff, and actually, a 2023 playing suspension pumped the brakes on his profession trajectory.
Minnesota clearly doesn’t care an excessive amount of about Rodgers’ inexperience (as a starter, anyway) or suspension. Adofo-Mensah made Rodgers his very first free-agent signing in March.
Nonetheless, handing the beginning CB baton to an unproven asset on a roster that in any other case screams Tremendous Bowl competition could also be thought of dangerous enterprise.
The Free Brokers in Case of Emergency
What if Adofo-Mensah will get to mid- or late-August and realizes that Rodgers isn’t a reliable starter? Fortunately, as of July twentieth, a bevy of free-agent corners stay on the open market.
Minnesota might signal one in all these males and fairly anticipate a starter’s contribution:
- Rasul Douglas
- Stephon Gilmore
- Mike Hilton
- Jack Jones
- Asante Samuel Jr.
Hilton is very intriguing for his tendency to blitz quarterbacks — that’s what Flores does on Sundays. Samuel Jr., too, is a frequent inhabitant of Minnesota’s rumor mill, and his upside + youth might be simply what the physician ordered if Rodgers produces an underwhelming coaching camp.
The Commerce Angle
Then — the commerce angle. Adofo-Mensah has by no means been shy about firing off trades to enhance his roster, and he has a largely full allotment of draft picks to wheel and deal.
The commerce rumor mill isn’t an actual science, however these veteran corners might be accessible for the value of mid- or late-round picks:
- Jamel Dean (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
- Trevon Diggs (Dallas Cowboys)
- Greg Newsome II (Cleveland Browns)
- Tariq Woolen (Seattle Seahawks)
On the entire, a commerce could also be unlikely as a result of Minnesota didn’t issue a lot into the Jalen Ramsey rumor mill earlier than he landed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ramsey’s contract was humongous, however he would’ve been the exclamation level on the Vikings’ offseason.
Kyle Joudry on the CBs
PurplePTSD‘s Kyle Joudry opined on the cornerback room this week: “There’s no such factor as a contemporary NFL staff that wins with out at the least stable nook play. To that finish, Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers Sr. are of the utmost significance. The Vikings can not win with out them. The staff’s CB1 and CB2 encourage at the least some degree of optimism given final 12 months’s success.”
“Murphy earned a Professional Bowl journey largely as a result of his 6 interceptions and 14 passes defended, each career-high numbers. In the meantime, Rodgers was serving to the Eagles win a Tremendous Bowl. The daring reality, although, is that every must proceed elevating their play in 2025.”
Joudry, too, makes the case, at the least from a predictive standpoint, that Murphy Jr. and Rodgers will run the present as starters.
Joudry continued, “Byron Murphy is coming in at 5’11” and 190 kilos. Isaiah Rodgers is coming in at 5’10” and 170 kilos. Any likelihood that the NFL’s bully receivers can get the higher of them? Does the beginning twosome wrestle with getting boxed out when leaping up for a rebound? Byron Murphy, the Vikings’ CB1, is working underneath a three-year deal that’s sitting at $54 million.”
“Isaiah Rodgers, the Vikings’ CB2, is working underneath a two-year deal that’s coming in a contact above $11 million. Sitting on greater than $23.5 million in open cap house, the Vikings are betting that these two corners can be weekly distinction makers.”
The Vikings’ first depth chart can be launched earlier than the preseason sport in opposition to the Houston Texans, which ought to present perception into the cornerback state of affairs.
