The Vikings’ Strategy Pulls a U-Turn at Critical Position
In the beginning, there was youth.
The Vikings’ strategy involved drafting young, fast corners. The 2022 NFL Draft resulted in picking Andrew Booth Jr. (the 2nd-Round selection who has since been traded) and then Akayleb Evans (a 4th-Round selection). Patrick Peterson remained to shepherd that crew, but Minnesota was making a deliberate effort to get younger at CB.
As an encore, Minnesota pulled another corner out of the 2023 NFL Draft. Mekhi Blackmon arrived in the 3rd Round and looked promising as a rookie. The 2024 NFL Draft saw a similar effort take place in the 4th Round with Khyree Jackson, someone who has tragically passed away in a summer car accident.
The broader effort has been clear: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah knows that corner is vitally important and has thus been trying to build the position through the draft.
The Vikings’ Strategy at Corner Has Taken a U-Turn
Recently, though, there has been a bit of a u-turn.
Shaq Griffin got picked up back when free agency was rolling along. The veteran corner is 29 and has been in the NFL since being drafted in the 2017 NFL Draft. The 2024 season will be his eighth in the league and Kevin O’Connell explained in the offseason that adding Griffin will (hopefully) allow Minnesota to play more man coverage.
Right now, Griffin is nursing a hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined for several weeks, but the hope is that he’ll be ready in time for Week 1. He’s playing on a single-season deal that carries a cap hit sitting at $4,430,000.
More recently, Stephon Gilmore was signed.
The contract details got relayed from ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “ESPN sources: Five-time Pro-Bowl CB Stephon Gilmore has reached an agreement in principle on a one-year deal worth up to $10 million, including $7 million guaranteed with the Minnesota Vikings.” Starter money. Oh, and shout out to Jeff Diamond of Vikings Territory who last week called his shot with a word about Gilmore signing at $10 million.
Minnesota went into the agreement with more than $19 million in cap space, but that’s an amount that will dwindle once the full details get sorted out. Adofo-Mensah could lean on void year shenanigans to lessen the hit in ’24.
Realistically, the Vikings could march into New York on September 8th and have three veteran free agent adds in starting positions: Byron Murphy Jr. in the slot alongside Shaq Griffin and Stephon Gilmore along the outside.
Combined, the trio has 324 games of NFL experience. Murphy still has a decent bit of youth given that he’s only 26, but we’re still talking about a CB group that’s looking quite old, all things considered.
Of course, the change in direction has in some ways been outside of Minnesota’s control. Jackson was going to play a role in 2024 but his life tragically ended. Blackmon was going to push for a starting spot but he has torn his ACL. The 2022 draft picks have underwhelmed, leading to a demotion (Evans) and trade (Booth).
The Vikings’ strategy has thus involved dipping into free agency to add more experienced corners, all of whom are playing on contracts that will expire in 2025.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap 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.
