Vikings’ UDFA Corner an Overlooked Candidate to Steal Away a Roster Spot
The corner competition is crowded. In the end, some talented players are going to need to find work elsewhere.
Within that competition is the Vikings’ UDFA addition Dwight McGlothern, a 22-year-old defender who is facing an uphill battle to make the final roster. Byron Murphy isn’t going anywhere. Shaq Griffin, Khyree Jackson, and Mekhi Blackmon are all very likely to be kept around. There’s a case to be made for some Akayleb Evans improvement and the team is still flirting with free agent corners. Can McGlothern assert himself within that context?
The Vikings’ UDFA Corner Has a Shot
Mr. McGlothern has his supporters.
On CBS Sports, Chris Trapasso ranks the corner at #2 in his best UDFA article. Trapasso praises McGlothern for being “fluid and instinctive in off-man and zone coverage” while then prophesying about a spot on the final roster: “Minnesota isn’t incredibly deep at cornerback, and McGlothern is the exact type of non-special athlete with a cerebral game who can outplay the fact that he wasn’t even selected in this draft.”
Prior to the draft, Lance Zierlein from the NFL’s website suggested that McGlothern should get scooped up in either the 5th or 6th.
The analyst sees someone who is “passive as a run defender” and who “possesses average speed and athleticism.” Those negatives, though, are only part of the story: “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.”
At 6’2″, 185, Dwight McGlothern has the size to be an NFL corner. The 4.47 forty isn’t earth shattering stuff, but it’s a pretty fast time (notably, it’s nearly identical to edge rusher Dallas Turner).
The corner spent his college career playing in the SEC, first for LSU before going to Arkansas. As a senior, McGlothern had 20 tackles, 3 interceptions, 6 passes defended, 3 tackles for a loss, and 1 forced fumble. The year prior, McGlothern’s junior season, featured 52 tackles, 4 interceptions, 10 passes defended, 1 tackle for a loss, and 2 forced fumbles.
The Vikings’ UDFA will need to show the coaching staff that he’s an excellent special teams player. Being unable to help Matt Daniels will almost certainly be the death knell to his chances of getting onto the final roster. Depth players must be strong special teams players.
But then there’s the upside that shines through in some of the earlier quotes.
Plus, PFF placed McGlothern at 200th in their rankings — 6th Round territory — while offering this thought: “McGlothern has some fantastic ball production thanks to top-tier instincts in off-coverage, but his freelancing is a gift and a curse. He’s a true boom-or-bust player, not just for his career but on a play-by-play basis.”
His final season in college featured a major dip in playing time — “Missed time with a concussion and turf toe,” per the NFL piece — but PFF gave him a sizzling 91.3 grade for his on-field efforts. There were 25 targets into his coverage, leading to just 12 receptions, 132 yards, and a pair of touchdowns. QBs had a paltry 51.2 passer rating when going after him.
Dwight McGlothern will be hoping to carry over some of that excellence into his debut NFL season. If successful, the Vikings will get an unexpected boost to one of the game’s most important positions.
Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference CFB helped with this piece.
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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.