Minnesota Vikings Corners

Tragedy and injuries have forced the Minnesota Vikings to do some tweaking of their cornerback plans. Two days into training camp and three of the team’s top four corners were no longer on the field. Khyree Jackson is tragically gone. Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL on the first day of training camp. Shaquill Griffin strained his hamstring the next day. Before they’d even really started training camp, the Vikings were scrambling for enough cornerbacks to effectively make it through a practice. Jacobi Francis, Duke Shelley, and Fabian Moreau were signed during the first week of training camp. Bobby McCain was signed to provide safety/corner versatility. 2023 fourth-round pick, Jay Ward, mostly a safety last year, has taken corner snaps to further supplement the position. After two years of struggling to stay on the field and find traction in the defense, 2022 second-round pick Andrew Booth Jr. was traded to the Dallas Cowboys for 2021 third-round pick Nahshon Wright. Neither player had found a role with the team that drafted them. A change of scenery might be a good thing for both. At 6’4” and 200 lbs, Wright looks like an ideal corner for a Brian Flores defense. 

Through all of the tweaks to the position, the Vikings cornerbacks currently look like this:

Byron Murphy Jr.

Shaquill Griffin

Akayleb Evans

Fabian Moreau

Nahshon Wright

Duke Shelley

A.J. Green III

Jaylin Williams

Dwight McGlothern

Jacobi Francis

The pre-training camp plan was to have free agent addition Shaquill Griffin and Mekhi Blackmon as the outside corners and Byron Murphy Jr. playing on the inside. It was a fine and promising plan. Flores hoped to play more man coverage and the experienced Griffin was signed in the offseason to do just that. Now, Blackmon is out for the year and Griffin hasn’t practiced for two weeks. While the wait for Griffin’s return continues, some combination of Akayleb Evans, Fabian Moreau, and Duke Shelley has taken most of the first-team snaps. Nahshon Wright could factor into the rotation as he acclimates to a new team. A.J. Green III and Dwight McGlothern are talented wildcards.

It’s the middle of August and the Vikings cornerback group is filled with questions. One question that’s currently floating around: 

“Should the Vikings pursue a deal with veteran Stephon Gilmore?”

Answer: “Absolutely.”

I was reluctant to accept the need for Gilmore until the wait for Griffin’s return moved to a second week. Now, I can easily see an over-30 outside corner duo. For that to happen, Gilmore needs to be signed and Griffin has to return to the field and, most importantly, stay on the field. 

Stephon Gilmore visited the Vikings yesterday. He reportedly left the facility without a deal but the potential for a deal remains. Hopefully, it happens. So far, nothing about the Vikings cornerbacks has gone as planned or hoped. Maybe, Gilmore can flip that pattern.