Vikings Make Decision on Dwight McGlothern
The Minnesota Vikings have a history of exceptional undrafted players. John Randle and Mick Tingelhoff found their way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, after going undrafted. Adam Thielen climbed the franchise’s record books, and just last year, Ivan Pace emerged as a standout linebacker despite his size limitations, which led to his tumble in the draft.
Of course, there are many more.
Vikings Make Decision on Dwight McGlothern
The next guy in line wants to be cornerback Dwight McGlothern, and so far, he has been a promising player. He shined throughout training camp and had some impressive preseason performances.
The problem, however, was that the team kept adding veteran cornerbacks, and the 53-man roster is a numbers game. At some point, they run out of roster spots.
But they found one, keeping the rookie out of Arkansas on the team, according to Alec Lewis from The Athletic. He tweeted: “The Vikings are keeping CB Dwight McGlothern on the initial 53, per source.”
Just a few days ago, head coach Kevin O’Connell praised the 21-year-old: “He’s shown up, it’s a great point, he’s shown up all camp. Not only just the cover skills that we knew he had, but his fit in the defense. He’s definitely put himself right in the conversation to have a chance to make our football team.”
Pro Football Focus has been a big fan of his preseason.
Despite the addition of various cornerbacks after starting as a fourth-string player on the depth chart, McGlothern has risen to the second-team just last week. He was only listed behind projected starters Byron Murphy and Stephon Gilmore, tied with Shaq Griffin and Akayleb Evans.
Through continuously good performances, however, he has overtaken Fabian Moreau, A.J. Green III, and Jacobi Francis (Andrew Booth Jr. was listed ahead of him but has been traded away). That is a significant jump. Rookies generally start lower on the depth chart and slowly work their way up.
He has worked his way up enough to make the team.
The cornerback possesses a promising athletic profile, with the requisite length at 6-2 and a 4.47-second 40-yard dash, although it is combined with underwhelming results in broad and vertical jumps. After two seasons at LSU, McGlothern transferred to Arkansas.
He registered seven interceptions in his last two collegiate seasons against top-notch SEC competition.
NFL scout Lance Zierlein wrote about the prospect before the draft: “Ball-hawking cornerback with the eyes, instincts and ball skills to flip the field against careless quarterbacks. McGlothern can press a little bit and handle some man coverage. However, he might be at his best in zone coverages, where he can scan the field and play chess with the route combinations and quarterbacks. He overlaps coverage areas to make plays on the football and has Cover 3 cornerback written all over him. McGlothern is passive as a run defender, which will slide him down the board for some teams. He possesses average speed and athleticism, but the skills are there to label him a Day 3 prospect with upside.”
McGlothern will likely be a depth option to begin the season, but he flashed the abilities of a future starter. If he can develop further, he will have a chance to be the next impactful undrafted player in the Vikings’ franchise history.
Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference CFB helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt