Countdown Questions — #4: Will Minnesota’s Corners Be in Over Their Head?
With the full Vikings roster soon to arrive at training camp, PurplePTSD is counting down the top 10 pressing, perplexing, and puzzling questions as the fateful day – July 25th – inches closer. Today’s focus rests on the #4 question:
Are Minnesota’s corners going to be in over their head?
The Vikings said goodbye to a whopping five(!) corners during the offseason. Patrick Peterson, Duke Shelley, Cameron Dantzler, Kris Boyd, and Chandon Sullivan are all wearing a different jersey. Replacing them will be Byron Murphy alongside some help from Joejuan Williams.
And, of course, the young CBs.
Are Minnesota’s Corners Ready for Action in 2023?
Add all of the defensive snaps together for the aforementioned corner fivesome. Where do we arrive? A whopping 2,989 snaps on defense. The team brought in Byron Murphy and Joejuan Williams, a pair that had … 593 snaps on defense last season.
So, there’s a clear deficit (though the safeties should see an increased role).
Part of the solution, quite evidently, rests in elevating young talent that’s hanging around on the Vikings’ roster. In limited action, Akayleb Evans impressed Vikings fans. He’s long & strong, a build that’s perfectly suited to being an NFL corner. The play that stands out in most people’s minds is the PBU while following Terry McLaurin in the Washington game.
The concern with Evans rests in his health, or lack thereof. The victim of multiple concussions in 2022, Evans will hope to stay fully healthy for the upcoming season. If he’s able to do so, he is the favorite to snag the CB2 job opposite Byron Murphy.
Meanwhile, Andrew Booth Jr. — the result of a trade up the board from GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah — is looking to prove he can develop into an excellent defender. Were it not for persistent concerns about his health, Booth (Dustin Baker’s defensive x-factor) likely would have been a 1st-round selection in 2022. Instead, he dropped down into the 2nd, allowing Minnesota to scoop him up at 42nd overall.
Part of the concern is that when he did get onto the field, Booth looked lost. Stefon Diggs torched the youngster, a reminder that the former Clemson corner has a long way to go in his development.
Diggs, of course, is among the league’s very best receivers, so there’s no shame in losing some reps against him. Nevertheless, recent years have featured some young corners quickly acclimating to the NFL, with Sauce Gardner and Patrick Surtain II being perhaps the two best examples. Can Booth somehow reverse course and start taking steps toward becoming like the Jets’ and Broncos’ corners?
The true nightmare scenario is if Murphy succumbs to injury. In that situation, the team would be leaning on mostly sophomores and rookies to get the job done (alongside a hearty portion of safety help). Sprinkle in a bit of Joejuan Williams and/or Tay Gowan, perhaps, but the young guys — ready or not — would suddenly be in very prominent roles. How does Booth as a CB1 sound? What about 3rd-round rookie Mekhi Blackmon being the top corner?
In the media, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah continues to suggest his goal is to compete in 2023, but it’s hard not to wonder if the GM will look back in some regret if the corners struggle to make it through the grind of a 17-game season (which is to say nothing of training camp, the preseason, and hopefully the playoffs on the backend).
The NFL’s wholesale shift toward exalting all things passing means having competent corners is a near necessity. Failing to at least slow down the other team’s receivers will lead to a long, long season (see the Vikings’ 2022 defense for an example).
The Week 1 game against the Bucs isn’t as daunting as when Tom Brady was the top pirate, but the Week 2 game against the Eagles certainly will tell us a lot. A date with Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown, DaVonte Smith, and Dallas Goedert isn’t for the faint of heart. We’ll learn a ton about Minnesota’s corners on that day.
Editor’s Note: The “Countdown Questions” series is a 10-day look at some of the most important questions facing the Minnesota Vikings as training camp nears. Be sure to keep swinging by to check out the latest installment and to read what has already been covered: #10, #9, #8, #7, #6, & #5.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
