Minnesota Vikings New Secondary

The Minnesota Vikings needed to improve their secondary this offseason. With the draft still to come, they have already made several moves to address that need. To a cornerback group that was long on talent but short on experience, Patrick Peterson and Mackensie Alexander were added. As rookies, Cam Dantzler and Jeff Gladney often flashed their talent. They also sometimes played like the rookies that they were. To a safety group that needed a starter next to Harrison Smith, Xavier Woods was added. Anthony Harris had been the starter next to Smith for a couple years but bolted to Philadelphia this offseason. Harris was great two years ago but like the entire defense had a down year last year. The Vikings made the decision a year ago to go with a young, inexperienced cornerback group. Babysitting was added to the already demanding duties of Smith and Harris. It’s really no surprise that Harris wasn’t the playmaking player that he was two years ago. Approaching his 30th year, his career arc might be at a crossroads. Woods is five years younger. His best football years are in front of him. With a more experienced cornerback group, Smith and Woods should be able to do safety things this year that Smith and Harris couldn’t last year. The additions of Peterson, Alexander, and Woods improve the Vikings secondary. 

With the draft a month away, the Vikings secondary group looks something like this. 

Cornerbacks

Patrick Peterson

Cam Dantzler

Jeff Gladney

Mackensie Alexander

Mike Hughes

Harrison Hand

Kris Boyd

Dylan Mabin

Safeties

Harrison Smith

Xavier Woods

Josh Metellus

Myles Dorn

Luther Kirk

One of the team’s most interesting position competitions this summer will be the one for the nickel corner job. Jeff Gladney vs Mackensie Alexander. If he can stay on the field, Mike Hughes might be a factor in that competition as well. If competition makes all those involved better the Vikings secondary will be much better for it. 

I can’t wait to see what Mike Zimmer and Karl Scott have planned for this cornerback group. It’s expected that Patrick Peterson and Cam Dantzler will be on the outside with some rotation of Jeff Gladney and Mackensie Alexander on the inside. Mike Hughes has the talent to be involved in all of it but he has to stay on the field. Injuries have been unfortunately routine during his three years in Minnesota. I suppose that anything he can provide will be considered a nice bonus. Harrison Hand and Kris Boyd are the sixth and seventh corners on this March depth chart. Both have shown that they can provide NFL quality snaps. It’s a deep group. Any cornerback additions from the draft could be considered luxuries. The talent and depth rivals the best of the Xavier Rhodes, Terence Newman, Trae Waynes, and Mackensie Alexander years. It’s hoped that Peterson will be the mentor to this group that Newman was to that group. And Peterson is about twenty years younger. 

The Vikings 2021 secondary should be more like the 2017 secondary than the 2020 secondary.