Vikings Corner Competition Playing Out in Real Time & Showing No Signs of Slowing Down
Byron Murphy Jr.? That’s an easy one. He’s the top Vikings corner, the one who gets shuffled all over the defense due to a versatile skill set. Akayleb Evans? Again, easy. The long and strong sophomore does a nice job of matching up along the outside, showing off good physicality as a tackler.
What about Mekhi Blackmon and Andrew Booth Jr? Well, the answer for these two isn’t so clear cut. The sophomore (who is 23) is in a heated battle with the rookie (who is 24) for playing time in the Brian Flores defense. The season’s snap allotment has tilted pretty heavily in one person’s favor — Blackmon is sitting on 136 defensive snaps whereas Booth is sitting on just 50 defensive snaps — but the recent distribution of playing time has been a lot more muddled.
The end result is a corner competition that’s playing out in real time, existing on a weekly basis as Flores keeps pulling his defense back into respectability.
The Vikings Corner Competition: Blackmon or Booth?
A lot of Vikings fans and writers had a good time mocking the opinion from Bruce Irons.
The Packers writer insisted that “Christian Watson has a higher ceiling than Justin Jefferson.” Note: Irons isn’t claiming that Watson is better; rather, just that there is more potential. Even still, it’s a bold claim, one that appears utterly ridiculous to most observers (my confusion about the claim led to a conversation with him where we discussed his take).
On Sunday, Watson didn’t do too much damage, finishing his day with just 3 catches (8 targets) for 33 yards. At least part of the reason why the stats were so modest was due to the play from Blackmon, who picked up a nice PBU while guarding the receiver with a significant height advantage.
By the end of the game, Blackmon had been on the field for 21 snaps. He didn’t pickup a tackle but he did come down with a trio of pass breakups, so Flores will be pleased with the effort from his young corner.
Meanwhile, Booth got onto the field for 7 snaps, getting on the stat sheet with a single tackle. Clearly, the team’s coaching staff saw something in the Green Bay matchup that prompted them to shift toward Blackmon. And, quite likely, something in the play from the corners themselves helped prompt the coaches to lean more toward Blackmon. For a week, the rookie regained his prominent spot.
Take a peak at how the snaps have been divvied up on a weekly basis:
| WEEK | ANDREW BOOTH | MEKHI BLACKMON |
| W1 (Buccaneers) | 0 | 15 |
| W2 (@ Eagles) | 0 | 14 |
| W3 (Chargers) | 0 | 18 |
| W4 (@ Panthers) | 0 | 21 |
| W5 (Chiefs) | 4 | 46 |
| W6 (@ Bears) | 26 | 1 |
| W7 (49ers) | 13 | 0 |
| W8 (@ Packers) | 7 | 21 |
Previously, Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores have been outspoken in their praise for Booth, so there’s no need to assume he’s being entirely phased out of the defense. Rather, the advantage titled toward the rookie for a game, a decision that certainly helped corral an overwhelmed Packers offense.
Next up on the schedule is the Atlanta Falcons, a team that has some top-tier talent on offense. Drake London, Cordarrelle Patterson, Kyle Pitts, and Bijan Robinson are all excellent football players. Yes, the QB spot isn’t overly daunting, but there’s an array of skill guys capable of piling up points if they’re not given the proper respect.
In other words, the Flores defense will need to continue cultivating the corners, developing a diverse set of skills to matchup with the various challenges that arrive. Keep an eye on how the DC chooses to deploy his depth corners in his effort to slow down Atlanta’s offense.
Kickoff takes place on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 12 p.m. CDT. The game will take place in Atlanta.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.