Mackensie Alexander Signs with the Dolphins
Josh Frey
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After the Minnesota Vikings secondary struggled in 2020 with young, inexperienced players being thrust into key roles, they opted to sign multiple veterans in 2021. They brought in Patrick Peterson, Bashaud Breeland, and got Mackensie Alexander to come back after a one-year hiatus in Cincinnati. Unfortunately, the trio never lived up to the hype they got in the spring, and Minnesota once again stumbled to the finish line with an 8-9 record. Now, one week into the 2022 preseason, Alexander has found a new team and signed with the Miami Dolphins.
Alexander was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 2016 when they selected him with the 54th overall pick out of Clemson. He played a very limited role in his rookie season, recording just 68 snaps on defense in the 2016 season, per Pro-Football-Reference. The second-round pick had five tackles on the year.
It was 2017 and 2018 when Alexander truly started to break onto the scene for the Vikings. He recorded his first career interception in Week 10 as a key part of Minnesota’s 38-30 victory at Washington. This was in the middle of a seven-game stretch in which he recorded five pass defenses. He had another pass defense in the Vikings playoff victory against the Saints.
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After missing the season opener in 2018, Alexander started his first game in Minnesota’s Week 2 matchup at Green Bay, The game ended in a 29-29 tie, but Alexander recorded a career-high at the time with seven tackles and his first of four sacks on the year. It was easily the best year of his career, and his PFF grade suggested the same as Alexander finished the year with a score of 78.1.
Alexander struggled a bit in 2019, and following the Vikings playoff run, he signed a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. The CB started a career-high 10 games for the Bengals, but he recorded just six pass defenses and had his first season without a sack since 2017.
That lack of success as a starter sent him back to Minnesota where he hoped to regain his confidence with a season in his natural slot position. It didn’t work out as his PFF grade was the lowest of his career at an abysmal 41.0.
Now, Mackensie Alexander joins a Miami Dolphins team that looks virtually brand new with star receiver Tyreek Hill and new head coach Mike McDaniels. The 28-year-old corner hopes to help a secondary that is reeling from the loss of second-year player Trill Williams in this past weekend’s preseason game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Alexander’s competition for the Dolphins’ CB3 job includes Noah Igbinoghene and Keion Crossen.
