For the second consecutive season the Minnesota Vikings have overhauled their cornerbacks. Last year, getting younger was emphasized. The results were mixed as the defense was shredded by injuries. Taking anything of substance from last year is a questionable task. Still, the Vikings decision-makers took enough from the season to again overhaul the cornerbacks this offseason. This year, adding experienced players was emphasized. The Vikings added a load of experienced cornerbacks. Here’s a look at the training camp competitions in the secondary.
Cornerbacks
The Vikings cornerback competition will be the most interesting, most contested competition of training camp. The Vikings signed a load of cornerbacks this offseason.
New Corners:
Patrick Peterson
Mackensie Alexander
Bashaud Breeland
Tye Smith
Parry Nickerson
Amari Henderson
That’s a lot of new cornerbacks. Patrick Peterson was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team. His play the last couple seasons didn’t matched that All-Decade level. He’s well aware of that. How could he not be? He’s routinely reminded of it. I expect a rebound and image re-building season from Peterson. He’s still one of the most physically gifted cornerbacks in the league. That, his pride, and his presence in Mike Zimmer’s defense will get him back to playing like one of the best corners in the game. Just because he won’t play corner the same as he once did doesn’t mean that he can’t play the position as well, or better, than he once did. Experience, technique, and a team defense will have Peterson playing at a high level again. At least, that’s the hope and the plan. Mackensie Alexander returns to Minnesota after a sabbatical year with the Cincinnati Bengals. During his first couple years in the league, he routinely fought Zimmer’s coaching. Once he embraced that coaching, Alexander soon became one of the best slot corners in the league. He returns to that role. I’ve been a fan of Bashaud Breeland since his Washington days. As a rookie, I thought that he was a future All-Pro. He hasn’t hit that mark but I’ve always appreciated his physical type of play. Tye Smith, Parry Nickerson, and Amari Henderson were modest free agent signings with varying amounts of NFL experience.
The six new cornerbacks join a youthful group that took some rookie lumps last year.
Cameron Dantzler
Jeff Gladney
Harrison Hand
Kris Boyd
Dylan Mabin
Cameron Dantzler and Jeff Gladney started as rookies. There were times and situations in which they looked like rookies. There were also times and situations in which they looked like future stars. Dantzler was terrific over the final quarter of the season. Many talking heads seem to see Peterson and Breeland as the likely starters on the outside. I’d be surprised if it isn’t Peterson and Dantzler as the starters. No matter how that competition plays out I think that there will be significant rotation among the corners. While Dantzler had the better rookie season I think that Gladney has the brighter NFL future. Unless his offseason stunt derailed that NFL future. If he didn’t do what he’s accused of doing hopefully it’s cleared up soon so that he can get back to football. If he did do what he’s accused of doing there’s really no place for him in the NFL. Harrison Hand was the third rookie cornerback to get playing time last season. For a fifth-round pick, he did well. Actually, for any round pick, he did well as a rookie. He was also one of the standouts of this offseason. He’s built up some nice momentum heading into training camp. Hand might be at the bottom of the team’s depth chart this season but I’d have confidence in him if he had to play a significant amount in a game, or stretches of games. Kris Boyd has been reliable when needed.
Right now, I see the Vikings going with six corners. Perhaps I see six corners because I don’t want to lose any of the six.
Here are the six:
Patrick Peterson
Cameron Dantzler
Mackensie Alexander
Jeff Gladney
Bashaud Breeland
Harrison Hand
That depends on the playing status of Gladney. If he’s on the team, the Vikings have ridiculous cornerback depth. If he isn’t on the team, Boyd might be the sixth cornerback and the Vikings have very good cornerback depth.
Safeties
Harrison Smith is great. He’s entering his 10th season at the age of 32. I hope that he plays another 4-5 years. I don’t want to think of a Vikings defense without him. This is also the final season on his contract. Sign him! Sign him to an extension yesterday. Xavier Woods was signed in the offseason to pair with Smith. I really like this Smith-Woods pairing. This was an under-the-radar signing that could work out well for the Vikings and Woods. The Vikings get a good football player at a position of need for a year. Woods gets a year in a potentially very good defense with excellent defensive coaches. He should be able to set himself up for a bigger and better free agent deal next March. Who knows? Maybe Woods works out so well in the Vikings defense that team and player talk extension. I doubt that happens for one reason. Camryn Bynum. The Vikings drafted Bynum in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He played corner at Cal. He’ll play safety for the Vikings. It’s a position switch that should suit him well. He’s more smart and instinctive than athletically explosive. Bynum was one of those college football players that you never want to see leave your college. He’s a very good football player. He’s also a leader on and off the field. He was so important to the Cal football program and Cal campus. The Golden Bears had a talented, very close-knit group of defensive backs. Some of them are in the NFL. Jaylinn Hawkins, Ashtyn Davis, Bynum. Traveon Beck should be. Elijah Hicks will be. Bynum was a leader. The defensive backs would met in his apartment to do white board work, talk ball, try to get better. Together. As a Cal fan, I hated seeing Bynum leave for the NFL. As a Vikings fan, I loved seeing Bynum leave for the NFL. Vikings fans are going to love having Bynum on the team. He will eventually be one of the starting safeties. I initially thought that could come as soon as his first training camp. I now think that Woods might be too formidable an obstacle for Bynum to pass him so early. I do think that Woods will have Bynum on his tail throughout the season. That should bring out the best in both. Smith, Woods, and Bynum are a nice safety trio. Josh Metellus was a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. One comment on him caught my attention during the pre-draft process. “When he gets on the field, you won’t be able to get him off.” He was a good college safety at Michigan. He just needs an opportunity in the NFL. I’m not sure that he gets it in Minnesota with the three safeties in front of him. But who knows? Maybe one day, Bynum and Metellus are the Vikings safety duo. Myles Dorn and Luther Kirk round out the safety group. Both entered the NFL through the undrafted free agent route. The Vikings signed Dorn. If I recall correctly, he was progressing well through training camp but a toe injury put him on the shelf for the season. At the time, it felt like one of those deals where he showed some promise and the Vikings were just looking for a reason to protect him by stashing him on injured reserve for the season. Maybe I’m just making light of a serious toe injury. Kirk originally signed with the Dallas Cowboys. The Vikings signed him to their practice squad early in the 2020 season. It seems that Metellus, Dorn, and Kirk are competing for the fourth safety job. As a draft pick with a season of experience, Metellus has the edge but Dorn might have more NFL potential.
Tomorrow: Special Teams
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