The Vikings’ Corner Concern is Seeing Reinforcements from Unusual Spots
The Vikings’ corner concern is legitimate.
Very few, if any, could have foreseen a 53-man roster where the amount of linebackers outnumbered the corners. Surely, the team will make an effort to add a fifth corner, right? Or, perhaps, is adding Fabian Moreau — who was on the team last year — enough to shore up the position?
The Vikings’ Corner Concern & The Roster’s Built-In Help
Start off with a basic reality: Brian Flores knows a ton about football.
Growing up, I played football in middle school, through high school, and then for a couple years of university (at a very low level). I now work full-time as a football writer and have commonly been found with my nose in a football book. So, too, do I spend time coaching. The point is simply to say that I have some experience with the sport. The depth of knowledge that Flores possesses clears mine by a thousand miles. Consider the chasm that exists between the eastern shores of the United States and the western shores of Europe; that’s how vast the knowledge gap is between Flores and I.
The point: the DC isn’t unaware of his defense’s potential shortcomings. Nor is he unaware of potential remedies for these possible issues.
Consider, for instance, one approach to helping the corners: Coach Flores is going to put a lot on his linebackers. Consider Andrew Van Ginkel, someone who is more commonly tasked with pinning his ears back to get after the passer. He’s someone who is quite good in coverage. No, not a shutdown corner, but someone who sets the standard for edge rushers in coverage. Dallas Turner may get tasked with offering up a similar level of versatility.
And then there’s the off-ball linebackers. Blake Cashman is very good in coverage as someone who has a brain in his head, communicates well, and who is athletic. He can often do nice work against tight ends and running backs. LB3 Eric Wilson brings similar savvy, experience, and athleticism.
No, these linebackers — both middle and outside — aren’t the same as having legitimate lockdown corners, but they’re nevertheless pieces of the coverage puzzle in the Brian Flores defense.
Shift your focus to the other area of the defensive backfield: the safeties.
All of Harrison Smith, Josh Metellus, and Theo Jackson are going to get leaned on a lot. In fact, the most common formulation of the team’s nickel defense could involve those three safeties alongside Byron Murphy Jr. (the CB1) and newcomer Isaiah Rodgers (the CB2).
Finally, there’s the presence of the defensive tackles. Neither of Jonathan Allen nor Javon Hargrave are going to be tasked with carrying Amon-Ra St. Brown down the slot. Rather, the hope is that they’ll get into the backfield so quickly that Jared Goff doesn’t have the time to find St. Brown.
Don’t ever forget that basic football fact: the pass rush and pass coverage work together. When the pass rush is ferocious, the pass coverage can be a lot better.
The broader takeaway is merely to say that the Vikings’ corners shouldn’t be understood in isolation. Yes, they’re the key pieces within a team’s coverage efforts, meaning they should therefore be prioritized in the passing NFL. For Minnesota, though, there has always been a willingness to be unique under Brian Flores’ leadership.
Maybe that means shifting an unusual amount of coverage responsibilities to the safeties, edge rushers, and linebackers (alongside a sprinkling of defensive tackle sacks).
