Vikings Acquire 4th Cornerback in 3 Weeks
Roughly, the first half of training camp is in the books. That means the first preseason contest is right around the corner when the Minnesota Vikings are scheduled to meet the Las Vegas Raiders.
On Friday, however, the focus switched to a move orchestrated by general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. He shipped third-year cornerback Andrew Booth to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for Nahshon Wright.
Vikings Acquire 4th Cornerback in 3 Weeks
Trading Wright for Booth is, first and foremost, an attempt to revive the careers of two reclamation projects. Booth was the 42nd overall pick in 2022 and has only played 256 defensive snaps for the Vikings. Adofo-Mensah was likely to cut him, but instead, they are getting another player in return.
That player was the 99th overall pick in 2021, coming out of Oregon State, where he transferred from Laney College. In two seasons at Oregon State (one was shortened due to COVID-19), Wright played in 18 contests and registered 64 tackles and five interceptions.
Wright possesses unusual but intriguing height, standing 6-4. Unsurprisingly, He struggled to perform decent test results at his Pro Day because players as tall as him can rarely move as quickly as shorter players. That brings some concerns, especially at cornerback, but he can combat those to some extent with his height.
Dallas’ draft choice was widely criticized as a reach. Many draft pundits viewed the defender as a late-round pick at best.
In his rookie season, Wright appeared in 13 games, playing only 91 snaps on defense and primarily contributing on special teams. That didn’t change much in the following two seasons. He was on the field on 269 defensive snaps and 611 special teams plays in 32 games. He has made 37 tackles and one interception.
Similarly to Booth, he perhaps wouldn’t have made the roster. Both the Cowboys and the Vikings are getting a headstart on the waiver process.
One fascinating tidbit is the fact that Wright is a cousin of Vikings cornerback Mekhi Blackmon. Unfortunately, the two will not play together as Blackmon suffered a torn ACL during the very first practice of training camp and has been placed on season-ending IR.
Minnesota’s cornerback crew has been going through an eventful training camp, starting with Blackmon’s injury. Possible starter Shaquill Griffin got hurt, too, although it is not expected to be a long-term problem. The Vikings acquired former Texans depth player Jacobi Francis, 2022 standout journeyman Duke Shelley, and veteran cornerback Fabian Moreau.
The depth chart released on Tuesday provided some clarity about the position.
Starters: Shaq Griffin/Byron Murphy Jr.
Backups: Akayleb Evans/Fabian Moreau
Third-String: Andrew Booth Jr./A.J. Green III/Jacobi Francis
Fourth-String: Jaylin Williams/Duke Shelley/Dwight McGlothern/NaJee Thompson
With Booth out, undrafted rookie Dwight McGlothern or Shelley might climb the ladder. The former has gotten some run with the first-team defense earlier in camp.
Wright doesn’t have the track record to be a difference-maker in Minnesota. However, he might sneak onto the roster as a depth player with special teams acumen. He is 25 years old, and the Vikings will try to uncover the third-round talent.
He has less than three weeks to convince his new coaches to keep him on the 53-man roster.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference 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