Vikings Corners

The Minnesota Vikings currently have five cornerbacks under contract.

Xavier Rhodes
Trae Waynes
Captain Munnerlyn
Jabari Price
Marcus Sherels

The Vikings are in talks to bring back 37-year old Terence Newman. He had a solid season last year as the starter Xavier Rhodes. So solid that he was able to keep 2015 top draft pick Trae Waynes on the bench. If Newman comes back he'll probably come back for depth as Waynes is ready to play.

Rhodes and Waynes have the talent to become one of the top corner combos in the league. Captain Munnerlyn is one of the better nickel corners in the league. Jabari Price showed some promise as a rookie in 2014 but injuries wrecked his second season last season. He's a promising, young player. Marcus Sherels is a standout on special teams, excelling at returning punts. In addition to his solid play on the field Newman provided excellent leadership to a very young position group. It would be great to have him back for that reason alone. His still solid play on the field would simply be a bonus. The Vikings are certain to add more corners in the draft. Perhaps more in free agency too. A team can never have enough corners.

There was a time not long ago when the Minnesota Vikings cornerback situation was an absolute disaster. Scary times. Wasswa Serwanga, Robert Tate, and such. It's a not like that anymore. Nearly as important as better talent is the coaching. Defensive backs coach Jerry Gray has an abundance of playing and coaching experience. Jonathan Gannon assists Gray. Head coach Mike Zimmer entered the league as a defensive backs coach. Unlike many head coaches he's very active in coaching up his players and he pays particular attention to the players that he knows best. Gray, Gannon, and Zimmer do an excellent job of refining the techniques and bringing out the natural talent of Rhodes, Waynes, Munnerlyn and the the rest of the cornerback group. And Rhodes and Waynes, in particular, have a great deal of talent. Minnesota is an excellent place for defensive backs to be. It's a good place to get better.