New Vikings Defender Is Turning Heads
The Minnesota Vikings have undergone a serious transformation in the secondary, as three of the top six players at safety and cornerback are no longer around. Some guys need to step up to provide coordinator Brian Flores with a respectable unit.
New Vikings Defender Is Turning Heads
That includes Cam Bynum’s presumed successor, Theo Jackson, at safety, and the cornerback trio of Mekhi Blackmon, Jeff Okudah, and Isaiah Rodgers. The latter has gotten some buzz directed his way from ESPN’s Vikings writer Kevin Seifert.
ESPN’s Praise
In an ESPN article, he named Minnesota’s offseason surprise player, and Rodgers got the nod. Seifert wrote: “Rodgers demonstrated why the Vikings pegged him as a likely starter despite a relatively obscure career since the Colts selected him in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. Rodgers displayed playmaking ability, jumping an out route and intercepting quarterback J.J. McCarthy, while also showing speed as a kickoff returner.”
Rodgers won last year’s chip with the Philadelphia Eagles after starting his career with the Indianapolis Colts. The undersized but dynamic player went in the sixth round of the 2020 draft and landed a role as the primary kick returner.
On the defensive side of the ball, he played a rotational role in years two and three. In 2023, his career was in jeopardy because of a gambling suspension for the entire season. The Colts waived him, and his career was potentially saved by the Eagles picking him up.
After a year on the sidelines, he was part of Philadelphia’s improved secondary rotation that helped him win the Super Bowl.
Flores finally got his hands on the speedster. He talked about him last month.
“He’s been on my radar since he was at UMass, a fast playmaker,” Flores emphasised. “I think he’s one of these kind of late-round guys who found his way in the league in the kicking game. And got in some games and made some plays. I’ve always thought he was a good player and was ascending. And the opportunity presented itself that we could maybe acquire him, I was all in, and I’m happy we got him. He’s been a great addition. He’s got a great kind of football IQ and acumen. That’s something that we stressed, really, throughout the group, at all levels, secondary, second level, and obviously D line.”
Rodgers As a Two-Way Player?
Because he’s a “fast playmaker,” special teams coordinator Matt Daniels wants the 27-year-old to compete for the vacant return jobs, as punt returner Brandon Powell is no longer on the team, and kick returner Ty Chandler hasn’t fully convinced everyone that he’s the right man for the job.
Daniels said in June: “He’s been an elite guy back there with the ball in his hands, and obviously he’s starting at corner right now for us. So that’ll be a conversation I have to have with the upper management just in terms of good we feel about our CB2 kinda being back there returning kicks but when you look at the impact that this phase is going to have with the ball being put in play and field position mattering so much, we got to be able to kind of weight what the risk reward is going to be just in terms of trying to keep this guy healthy.”
Rodgers is the apparent front-runner for the CB2 gig, and it remains to be seen whether the Vikings want to add any injury risk when he’s already scheduled to play 1,000 snaps on defense.
Seifert noted in his piece: “It’s not clear whether the Vikings will use him as a returner, given the heavy workload he’s expected to face as a cornerback.”
First and foremost, the Vikings need him to be a dependable cornerback, and the early returns are positive.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
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