Vikings Secondary

The Minnesota Vikings used a first round pick on a defensive back a grand total of twice through their first 51 drafts. Twice! Safety Joey Browner in 1983. Corner DeWayne Washington in 1994. Two times in 51 years! Passing wasn't quite the same through most of those years as it is now but it's incredible to avoid a position group that has historically required top-end talent. The Vikings have changed that pattern in recent years. They have selected a defensive back in the first round three times since 2012. Safety Harrison Smith in 2012. Corner Xavier Rhodes in 2013. Corner Trae Waynes in 2015. The Vikings have made it a priority to improve the overall talent of the secondary. They have also improved the teaching of techniques. Head coach Mike Zimmer has a background in coaching defensive backs and he doesn't sit back and watch. He and defensive backs coach Jerry Gray are tremendously hands-on and effective teachers. The emphasis on improving both the talent and teaching of the secondary has expectations sky high for the Vikings defensive future.

 Here's a look at the current depth of the Vikings secondary:

Corners

Xavier Rhodes

Trae Waynes

Terrence Newman

Captain Munnerlyn

Josh Robinson

Marcus Sherels

Jabari Price

Jalil Carter

DeMarcus Van Dyke

Justin Coleman

Safeties

Harrison Smith

Robert Blanton

Andrew Sendejo

Taylor Mays

Antone Exum

Anthony Harris
Shaun Prater

Rhodes and Smith are already franchise cornerstones. Each is on the cusp of being considered among the best in the league at their positions. The feeling here is that they are already there. Waynes has the talent to join them. The Vikings selected him with the 11th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft to pair with Rhodes as a terrific corner tandem for years. Whether Watnes is ready to step in as the starter game one will be determined this summer. Newman will turn 37 before the season starts. He appears to be on of those very skilled defensive backs like Darrell Green, Deion Sanders, and Charles Woodson that can play forever. He's played in Zimmer's defense for years. At worst he's a player-coach on the field. At best he's the starter until Waynes is ready. If nothing else Newman improves the overall talent of the secondary. Munnerlyn had a rough year last year adjusting to Zimmer's demanding expectations but he's ideally suited to be the nickel corner. It sounds like he's closer to being on the same page with Zimmer and his defense. Robinson has started and improved his play last year but he still has difficulties with bigger receivers. Unfortunately there's a bunch of big receivers in the NFC North. Sherels has been a scrappy corner, terrific punt returner and his persistence and fight to sustain an NFL career is inspiring. The fight to make this Vikings roster will be his greatest fight. Price was a pleasant surprise last year as a seventh-round rookie and could challenge Munnerlyn for the nickel role. Carter was an offseason addition from the CFL. There was a time not long ago that the top of the Vikings corner depth chart looked a lot like the bottom of this depth chart. Those were sad days. The top four spots are pretty much set. If the Vikings keep six corners there will be a well-contested fight between Robinson, Sherels, Price, Prater, Carter, Van Dyke, and Coleman. The guess here is that Robinson and Price fill out the corner spots. 

The most fierce battle at training camp might be for the safety spot opposite Smith. Blanton started most of last season. Sendejo stepped in and started when Blanton was injured. Mays was added this past offseason and played for Zimmer in Cincinnati. Exum was a sixth-round pick last year and mostly played on special teams. General manager Rick Spielman singled out Exum as a player that has increased expectations this year. Harris was the Vikings top undrafted target this year. Despite not being selected in the draft he will be in the mix for that starting spot. Prater was moved from corner to safety this offseason. I think that the starting spot next to Smith comes down to a battle between Exum and Harris. No matter how that starting spot shakes out there will be a battle between Blanton, Sendejo, Mays, Exum, and Harris for probably three spots. The wildcard in this mix is Mays. He has a unique mix of size (linebacker-like size) and speed. He's been somewhat unreliable in coverage which is a bit of a problem for a safety but he has skills to play a specialized role in certain defensive packages. He's also an excellent special teams player. He could force the coaches to keep a fifth safety but it might be too much of a luxury on a 53-man roster. 

A way-too-early look at how the Vikings secondary might shake out:

Corners

Xavier Rhodes

Trae Waynes

Terrence Newman

Captain Munnerlyn

Josh Robinson

Jabari Price

Safeties

Harrison Smith

Antone Exum

Robert Blanton

Anthony Harris

If it does shake out this way, I'd really hate not seeing Marcus Sherels and Andrew Sendejo on the Vikings roster. The talent level throughout the roster has improved so much so quickly that there will be a lot of tough cuts this year.