Brian Flores Nominates His Jeff Okudah Replacement
This week’s injury report is quite bad for the Minnesota Vikings, and the short week doesn’t help. A pair of players are in the concussion protocol. Andrew Van Ginkel and Jeff Okudah are in real danger of missing the Week 2 contest, considering how tough it is to clear the protocol even within one normal week.
Brian Flores Nominates His Jeff Okudah Replacement
If Van Ginkel is out, last year’s first-rounder Dallas Turner is primed to log his first career start with a chance to prove that he is a good football player and just stuck behind two star defenders.
Okudah is the third cornerback behind starters Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers, who both played all 67 defensive snaps in the season opener. If he’s out, the Vikings need a new third guy in the rotation and defensive coordinator Brian Flores was asked about that.
“Yeah, I mean, we got Nudie (Dwight McGlothern). Nudie obviously had a really good training camp and he’s somebody we feel good about,” Flores said Thursday. “So in those situations, he would go. [Okudah] is in the protocol. We’ll take that day-by-day and see how that all shakes out, but Nudie would be the first guy that comes to mind. And [we] got a lot of confidence in him.”
McGlothern (nicknamed Nudie) was a 2024 undrafted free agent, and the Vikings lured him to the Twin Cities. He’s been a real summer star, but the opportunities in real football games just haven’t been there for the sophomore.
Last year, he played 20 defensive snaps, mostly in garbage time, and in the season opener, McGlothern was limited to special teams duties. In the offseason, however, the Vikings hired a pair of new corners but allowed three guys to walk. Fabian Moreau, who was ahead of McGlothern last season, was eventually re-signed to the practice squad a couple of weeks ago, but McGlothern still seems to be the next man up.
His 2025 preseason didn’t quite match the level of performance he achieved in his 2024 exhibitions, but McGlothern still has an excellent track record in August, having been targeted a total of 13 times over the last 13 months for eight catches and 65 yards. He also snatched one interception, and the passer rating allowed is an embarrassing (for the passer) 42.1.
The DB 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.
In his 38 games in college, McGlothern accumulated 113 tackles and eight interceptions. The intriguing aspect is that seven of those came in his two final college seasons, showing his knack for the ball.
Okudah played 16 defensive snaps in Week 1. That number will change from game to game. In some contests, Flores will deploy more three-corner sets than in others, depending on the opponent’s tendencies.
Regardless, Sunday’s matchup against the Atlanta Falcons could be a massive opportunity for McGlothern to make some noise. The defender is 23 years old.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.