Camp questions: Who will emerge from the cornerback room?
The Minnesota Vikings might be among the NFL’s leaders in most positions that include a significant battle during training camp. For Part 2 of “Camp Questions,” we take a closer look at one of the most contested positions on the roster: Cornerback. The group features a new free agent and several inexperienced recent draft picks who will be looking to find their spot within Brian Flores’s revamped defense. Let’s dive in…
How will Byron Murphy Jr. fit in a new environment?
By PFF grade, Byron Murphy has ranked 35th, 61st, 36th and 78th among starting cornerbacks in his four seasons in the NFL. That pretty well demonstrates his career thus far, which has been a bit of a roller coaster. His above average and below average years seem to be dictated by role. The Vikings believe he can be better than that and they may have a pretty good argument. Not only was Murphy Jr. playing on defenses that never cracked the top 10 and ranked as low as 31st during his time in the desert but he was also shuffled between positions and roles as well, splitting his snaps nearly 50-50 between the slot and outside cornerback.
Kevin O’Connell said that Murphy Jr. will be their starting slot and move outside only when they have two cornerbacks in the personnel grouping. That spot tends to be important in Flores’s defense as a key job in coverage, run defense and his blitz packages. Murphy will have a chance to play an aggressive style in a consistent role rather than bouncing around.
At 25 years old, there would appear to still be more to the former second-rounder’s game than what he did in Arizona. Will we see signs of that during camp? The summertime isn’t always predictive for cornerbacks but two weeks of joint practices could be an indicator of how he’s fitting in and what’s to come from the recent free agent signee.
Mekhi Blackmon vs. Andrew Booth Jr.?
In minicamp Akayleb Evans looked like the favorite for one side of the field and either rookie Mekhi Blackmon or second-year CB Andrew Booth Jr. would be battling it out for the other spot. Much can change once pads come on during training camp but the Vikings have appeared high on Evans since camp last year. He has exceptional movement skills for a 6-foot-2 corner and would seem to fit well in a man-to-man defense. In his rookie year, Evans played 162 snaps and showed both how raw his talents are and the upside, especially in Washington where he had two key pass breakups. Is he locked in as a starter though?
If that’s the case, we’ll be closely watching Blackmon vs. Booth Jr. There were flashes during camp in 2022 from Booth Jr. but injuries consistently kept him out of the lineup and his 105 defensive snaps in the regular season were very rocky. But this year is a fresh start for the 2022 second-rounder out of Clemson. Can he stay on the field and shine with his coverage skills or will this year’s pick come for his job? Blackmon was a stellar corner at USC, where he scored extremely high grades in man and zone coverage while playing an aggressive style for his size. It could come down to which player masters the defense quicker. You would think Booth Jr.’s experience would help but in this case both are starting from square one with Flores. It could be a fascinating battle to watch throughout the summer.
Can Joejuan Williams or Jay Ward carve out a role?
In 2019, Williams was picked 45th overall by the New England Patriots, where he only played 506 snaps in three seasons. He is an intriguing talent though. At 6-foot-3 and over 210 pounds, he is one of the largest corners in the NFL. Considering that Flores’s M.O. is to move players around and find roles for them, the door might be open for Williams to kickstart his career at age 25. In 2012 he had the ninth best PFF grade against the run of all cornerbacks with at least 250 snaps.
Vying for a rotational or situational role along with Williams is Jay Ward, a defensive back who held down numerous jobs in the LSU secondary last year. It’s rare that a college DB plays in more than one spot but Ward moved all over the field, which made him an attractive fit for the Vikings and Flores. You would expect a fourth-round rookie would need to start on the special teams side but we will be watching to see if he can force Flores to get him on the field in other ways.
Is there any diamonds in the rough?
The Vikings threw numbers at the position, signing John Reid, a former Texan, Seahawk and Titan and bringing back ex-Eagle Tay Gowan and 2022 Titans pick Theo Jackson.
In total, Reid has 315 career snaps and struggled in his small sample giving up a 134.5 QB rating on throws into his coverage on 24 targets. He’s 27 years old, so there isn’t much hope for a higher ceiling to be reached but is more experienced than the rest of the room and could add to the special teams units. Gowan and Jackson might have a little more upside as late-round draft picks. Both fit a prototype for the Vikings at 6-foot-2.
Maybe the most interesting of the unprovens is NaJee Thompson, a Georgia Southern corner who wore a lot of hats in college. He has made it clear in interviews that he wants to thrive on special teams, which is where he might have to carve out a role considering he doesn’t have the athletic profile to wow coaches right off the bat.
Will this be the year that turns the tide for the cornerbacks?
In 2020 the Vikings reassembled their secondary after losing Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander and they haven’t found any stability in the position since. In total, 14 different cornerbacks started games between 2020 and 2022 and only two of those players are still on the roster. Will this be the year that they find foundational pieces amongst the youth movement and build around those players for the future or will we still be talking about overhauls and future draft capital and free agent dollars spent at cornerback? We won’t be able to decide that by the end of training camp but there could be a strong inkling considering the receivers these corners will face in camp both in regular and joint practices. Any signs of life will be well documented considering all the struggles to find the next wave of CBs.
