Can Brian Flores Unlock the Vikings Cornerbacks?
Ted Schwerzler
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Last season the Minnesota Vikings knew they needed to make changes at the cornerback position. Although they took a safety with their 1st round draft pick, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah grabbed a pair of corners as the draft went on. Pass defense was a problem for Ed Donatell’s group. How can Brian Flores unlock the Vikings cornerbacks in the season ahead?
When looking at the 2023 Minnesota Vikings roster, there should be an expectation for plenty of turnover. Patrick Peterson is the veteran presence that Minnesota has leaned on in the room each of the past two years. Coming off of a strong 2022 season, his desire to get paid one last time should be higher. Assuming it’s straightforward to bring him back is probably unlikely.
Similar to Peterson, Chandon Sullivan is a veteran that is on the way out. He, however, did not have the same type of year, and the snaps he took up will probably be better utilized elsewhere. Kris Boyd didn’t contribute much anywhere except special teams, and that leaves Duke Shelley as the only unmentioned free agent.
Shelley came on out of nowhere for Minnesota, and he arguably was their most important cornerback down the stretch. He stepped up during the Buffalo Bills game, and leaned into a starting role from there. The Vikings didn’t play a considerable amount of man-to-man last year, but that is a cornerstone of what Brian Flores has shown as a coach. If the Vikings want someone familiar that excelled in that area, bringing back Shelley could be of value.
Where Flores will find his greatest area to impact the defense is in the trio of Cam Dantzler, Andrew Booth Jr., and Akayleb Evans. Dantzler has shown he can be a starting caliber corner but has been beyond streaky. Wanting to step out of Bashaud Breeland’s shadow last season, he did less with more opportunity this season.
It was seen as a value pick that Booth Jr. fell to the 2nd round. Unfortunately, his problem has always been staying on the field, and that continued to be the case as a rookie. Flores needs to find a way to unlock his potential, but that can only happen if he remains available on the field. Booth Jr. may have the chops to be a true lockdown corner in the NFL, but there is nothing Flores can do if the former Clemson product can’t allow him an ability to work.
On the flip side, we saw Evans show glimpses of what looks to be an NFL-caliber starter. Minnesota needed that to remain the case, and unfortunately, multiple concussions took him off the field.
The biggest focal point for Evans this offseason is to get healthy. It does the player and team no good if he can’t live a productive life in his future because of what took place on a football field. Seeing how he shined in limited exposure during year one, Flores has to be ecstatic thinking how he can push him further.
There should be an expectation that the cornerback room will change this offseason as well. The Vikings will likely sign a free agent or two, and they probably need to use at least one of their draft picks on the position. Knowing that, it will be up to Flores to find a way for one of the NFL’s worst units to become something that can benefit the offense.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.