Yesterday was supposed to be a beautiful day at TCO Performance Center. After a transformative offseason, the Minnesota Vikings were kicking off training camp. Football was finally here. It was a beautiful day until cornerback Mekhi Blackmon limped off the field. After being treated by the trainers, he limped to the locker room. The fact that he limped to the locker room felt promising. It was a tease as it was reported later in the day that Blackmon had torn his ACL. He’s out for the season.
After a very promising rookie season, much was expected of Mekhi Blackmon. He had a legitimate opportunity to be one of the two corners on the field in base defense. He was certainly going to be on the field with Byron Murphy Jr. and Shaquill Griffin in nickel. This is a huge loss of one of the Vikings most promising young defensive players. Injuries will always be part of football. They always will be. This is just a brutal start to a much-anticipated training camp and season.
Now what? It’s next man up. In football, it’s always next man up. This is the second brutal blow to the Vikings cornerback group this summer. Rookie Khyree Jackson was tragically killed in a car accident last month. With that sort of loss, a little knee injury doesn’t seem so bad. Football barely paused for Jackson. It won’t stop for Blackmon. Even before the loss of Jackson and Blackmon, the Vikings cornerback group was questioned. The Vikings brought back 2022 fan folk hero Duke Shelley earlier this week. After losing Blackmon, they announced the signing of former third-year corner Jacobi Francis this morning. As a rookie, he spent the 2022 season on the practice squad of the Houston Texans. He was elevated to the active roster and appeared in five games. In 2023, he was again on the Texans practice squad but was released in October. Now, he has another football shot with a team in need of corners.
The Vikings cornerback group currently looks like this:
Byron Murphy Jr.
Shaquill Griffin
Akayleb Evans
Andrew Booth Jr.
Duke Shelley
A.J. Green III
Jaylin Williams
Dwight McGlothern
Jacobi Francis
The Vikings projected base starters remain the same as it’s been all offseaon.
Byron Murphy Jr.
Shaquill Griffin
It’s the nickel group where things now get a little squirrelly. After a promising rookie season in 2022, Akayleb Evans started 15 games last season. The concern for him is that he’s faded at the end of each of his two seasons. Concussions were the reason in 2022. Up until those late-season struggles, Evans showed solid potential each season. He could easily be the outside corner opposite Griffin in nickel. He’s done it. He just has to get better at it. Andrew Booth Jr. has the natural talent to be the best of this bunch. He must avoid the injuries that have peppered his two years in the league and play to his potential. If he can do that, this now reduced group could be much better than expected. Although, those expectations are not that high right now. If Shaquill Griffin can regain his form of a couple years ago. If Akayleb Evans can build on his best play of his two years in the league. If Andrew Booth Jr. can play to his immense talents. That’s a lot of “ifs” but the Vikings have some corners with the man-coverage ability that defensive coordinator Brian Flores favors. For me, the wildcard of this group is undrafted rookie Dwight McGlothern. I was intrigued in him as a fifth- or sixth-round pick in the draft. I was stunned that he wasn’t drafted and thrilled that the Vikings signed him. In a draft with limited draft capital, the Vikings adding Khyree Jackson and McGlothern was a bonanza.
Will the Vikings sign or somehow acquire another cornerback? Who knows? It’s late July. There aren’t a lot of top-notch corners walking around un-signed. The biggest names are a couple mid-30 future Hall of Famers in Patrick Peterson and Stephon Gilmore. Xavien Howard is tempting but his off-the-field baggage is probably too much. The more appealing due to age and potential upside are a couple Jacksons. Adoree’ Jackson and J.C. Jackson. Right now, I’m just hoping that the injury to Mekhi Blackmon is the beginning and the end to the injuries. I’m hoping that the Vikings trainers have a boring rest of their summer. I’m hoping that they have a boring season too.
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