Looks Like the Vikings Have a Surprise Starter
Many spots have already been filled with obvious starters in this year’s Vikings camp, which lacks the usual starter competitions. Yet, there are a couple of them. The secondary could heat up throughout the next weeks, but for now, we have a starting unit.
Looks Like the Vikings Have a Surprise Starter
Of course, Pro Bowler Byron Murphy Jr. will be one of the three cornerbacks in nickel packages (the most common package in today’s NFL). The next guy on the depth chart is Isaiah Rodgers, a free agent signing, who’s just coming off a Super Bowl victory with the Philadelphia Eagles. It’ll be his first year as a full-time starter.
Someone who has started before is the frontrunner for the third CB job. No, the Vikings have not just promoted Mekhi Blackmon, who showed flashes in his rookie year but missed 2024 because of a torn ACL suffered pretty much exactly a year ago.
Jeff Okudah, instead, is the man of the hour.
On the second day of training camp, on Thursday, The Athletic’s Alec Lewis noted on social media, “Quick thoughts from Day 2 of Vikings training camp: The Brian Flores defense looks revved up, per usual around this time. Disguised looks. Activity from Levi Drake Rodriguez. Lots of Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah. Offensively, a few crisp screens stood out.”
When a fan asked him how Okudah was looking, he responded short but clear, “very good.”
Mark Craig of the Star Tribune reported from camp a day before that: “The top three cornerbacks look good. On paper, at least. When the Vikings used their nickel package Wednesday, rising star Byron Murphy Jr. was in the slot, while Rodgers and former No. 3 overall draft pick Jeff Okudah lined up outside. Mekhi Blackmon, who missed all last season with a torn ACL, worked with the second team.”
There is good and bad news involved with this development.
The Good News
Let’s start with the good news.
Okudah was once a premier draft prospect coming out of college in 2020. Sure, he hasn’t lived up to it, but there might be some hidden talent somewhere inside him. Brian Flores has gotten the best out of various players in his coaching career, so why not do it again?
There has also been some buzz about Okudah earlier this offseason. Justin Jefferson has been a big fan for a while. He said about his new teammate: “He has that speed … and he has that ability to really play-make and just be an annoying cornerback. That’s what I like to call those types of corners, ‘annoying cornerbacks,’ because they know how to be physical. They know how to get you off your route and not be able to have free access.”
Jefferson has seen many cornerbacks in his NFL career, but Okudah held Jefferson to a couple of his worst statistical outputs. He brings prototypical size and has shown to be physical before.
Right after the draft, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said on KFAN about his new player, “Okudah is somebody we signed in free agency that we’re excited about. He’s as talented as anyone who got drafted last Thursday or Friday.”
And then there’s another prominent endorsement.
Consider Kevin O’Connell’s words during an NFL Network appearance on draft weekend: “How about Jeff Okudah, a guy that was a really high draft pick, has all the traits. Very smart player. We’ve had our struggles against him at times, dealing with his length and strength at the line of scrimmage.”
The Bad News
Now the bad stuff. Well, Okudah hasn’t been particularly successful in his pro career.
He has played in only 44 games through five seasons. In three of those five years, he didn’t even reach ten games. Okudah has gone through soft-tissue injuries, an Achilles tear, and a serious hip injury.
Regardless, when he has been on the field, his play hasn’t been that great either.
According to PFF, Detroit’s former draft pick has been targeted 181 times in his career, allowing 120 passes to be caught for 1,926 yards and five touchdowns with a passer rating of 106.3. He has yet to finish a season with a PFF grade of 60, which would still be below-average.
Bottom Line
All we can do is trust the men in charge. The Vikings signed him to a cheap deal at a time when numerous other cornerbacks were available in free agency, via trade, and even in the draft.
Flores might get something out of a player with some intriguing tools. History, however, suggests that a player is exactly who he has shown himself to be in the five seasons prior. It’s on Mekhi Blackmon, Ambry Thomas, Dwight McGlothern, and the other defensive backs to unseat him. If they can’t, it’s his job, barring any roster moves.
At this point, the 26-year-old is THE winner of the early training camp days.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.