Matthew Coller: Reaction to the Vikings signing Stephon Gilmore

The Vikings add the veteran cornerback to shore up their biggest weakness.

Oct 16, 2022; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts cornerback Stephon Gilmore (5) warms up before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jenna Watson-USA TODAY Sports / Jenna Watson-USA TODAY Sports

With only a few weeks left before opening day, the Minnesota Vikings have added a starting cornerback to the mix. On Sunday the Vikings signed veteran Stephon Gilmore to a reported one-year, $10 million contract with $7 million guaranteed.

Let’s break down what the addition of Gilmore means…

Where he fits

When second-year corner Mekhi Blackmon was lost to an ACL injury on the first day of training camp and saw Shaq Griffin go down immediately after that (with an injury that’s not expected to keep him out long term), the Vikings signed veteran Fabian Moreau. Since then we have seen Moreau mix in with the first team along with Akayleb Evans and Byron Murphy Jr.

Now that Gilmore is in the mix, he will be expected to start along with Murphy Jr. when they are in a two-corner personnel grouping and play the outside with Griffin and Murphy Jr. going into the slot when they are in a nickel package. Evans will likely be relegated to depth. It would seem that Moreau will also fall into that category but that depends on whether the staff liked what they saw from him in camp. They could elect to put standout UDFA Dwight McGlothern on the 53-man roster and cut Moreau.

The Vikings have talked about their desire to play more man coverage this year. If Gilmore is the same player that he was last season, it is more plausible that they will be able to do that. Gilmore ranked 10th in PFF grade among starting corners when playing man coverage. He also played man coverage on 43% of his snaps, per PFF, which is nearly 20% higher than anyone on the Vikings last year.

Bucking the age curve

The football universe has come to understand that running backs hit a wall when they are in their late 20s but the same is somewhat true for cornerbacks. In 2021 PFF studied positional age curves and corners were second to running backs in terms of the least amount of WAR value generated after the age of 30.

Naturally that raises a red flag for any corner over 30 but especially heading into an age-34 season as Gilmore is. Since 2014 there have only been seven cornerbacks age 34 or older who have started at least 12 games in a season.

The actual performance by corners who make it to 34, however, has not been bad. Brent Grimes had a 74.1 PFF grade at age 34. Terence Newman had a 74.4 grade and then posted three more 70+ seasons after that. A 34-year-old Rashean Mathis managed a 78.0 grade. Johnathan Joseph was the only 34-plus player to clear an 80 PFF grade in 2018 (80.4). The only one who severely struggled was Josh Norman with the 49ers in 2021 (48.8 grade).

The point is that if a cornerback still has the ability to play in the NFL at age 34, chances are that he is still pretty good. It’s just rare that anyone ever makes it there. That small sample of history would tend to bode well for Gilmore in Minnesota.

What it means

After seeing what the Vikings’ defense did to the Cleveland Browns in joint practices this week, they had to think that adding Gilmore could make them dangerous. The defense has remained healthy during camp outside of the Blackmon injury and seen the edge rushers, linebackers and safeties shine. Improving their weak link gives the defense an opportunity to be a driving force and gives them a chance to face off with the likes of the 49ers, Texans, Packers, Lions etc.

While this year has been painted by some as a “rebuilding” season, the roster doesn’t reflect that type of approach. With players like Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Black Cashman added in the offseason and Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw receiving huge dollars in extensions, the Vikings have too much talent to spend 2024 looking toward next year’s first-round pick. Gilmore’s addition only adds to the idea that the Vikings’ management and ownership is pushing to return to the playoffs.

Of course, their postseason chances rest on Sam Darnold but a top-notch defense could take some pressure off Darnold and keep him from trying to play hero too often.