Prized Vikings Player is Bringing His Lunch Pail to Practice
In the NFL, everyone possesses talent. The basic reality exists on a spectrum — some guys do have more talent — but there’s still an important takeaway: outworking one’s competitors can often be central to standing out in the ultra-competitive league.
Jeff Okudah, a new Vikings player, was once a prized pickup by the Detroit Lions. After all, we’re talking about a No. 3 selection who was a tremendous player for Ohio State. Possessing an ideal build at 6’1″ and 205 pounds and with 4.48 speed, Okudah was supposed to turn into a lockdown CB1 but has struggled to fulfill expectations. He’s looking to rectify the issue by adopting a workmanlike mentality.
Jeff Okudah, A New Vikings Player, is Promising to Work
The update arrived within a recent chat with the Minnesota media.
After confirming a chip-on-shoulder mentality, Okudah gets into his mindset when he shows up to practice: “I probably shifted more so to that mentality of just coming in here, putting my best foot forward every day and doing everything in my control to earn my keep with the guys. Earn my respect. We have a lot of older guys in the room. So to earn the respect of the veterans and going from there.”
“I’m excited to come to work every single day,” Jeff Okudah elsewhere explains.
Consider, before going too far, some of what was being said about the corner prior to the 2020 NFL Draft.
The scouting blurb on the NFL’s website: “Head coach and general manager’s dream prospect with blue-chip physical traits, mental makeup and personal character. He has size, length and foot quickness to road-block press release and elite closing burst to close catch windows or eliminate yards after catch. He has room for improvement with his recognition and balance at the top of the route, but quarterbacks rarely target and beat him over the top. He has a rigid adherence to technique, but squeezing coverage even tighter and trusting his traits, talent and recovery speed could make him one of the top shutdown corners in the game.”
The draft grade that gets assigned to him indicates that he’ll develop into a “Pro Bowl talent.” Oh, and the player he gets compared to is Patrick Peterson.
Essentially, we’re talking about a draft prospect who was expected to develop into one of the NFL’s best corners. Sinking the No. 3 selection into him proves as much, just as the scouting blurb helps to convey the upside that talent evaluators saw in him.
Unfortunately, Jeff Okudah hasn’t had a great NFL career (at least not so far). He stuck around in Detroit for a trio of seasons, battling injury and ineffective play. He was then traded to Atlanta. Folks, a team moving on from their top-three pick before the fourth season is a near surefire sign that things haven’t gone well. Atlanta, however, wasn’t a lasting home. Houston was the destination in 2024, a partnership that involved just 6 games played but no starts.
Per PFF, the best that Mr. Okudah has done was his play in 2022. Even then, though, we’re talking about someone who was sitting at a 59.4 grade, a modest number that placed him in at 77th among 118 qualifying corners.
In signing Okudah to a modest-yet-guaranteed deal, the Vikings are betting on upside. Yes, things have gone poorly, but there’s talent still present in the 26-year-old defender. Working in his favor is his self-stated desire to work, fully welcoming a daily effort to push his game to new heights. Again, combining talent and hard work is a wonderful thing for a football player, an approach that generally pays dividends.
Consider, as well, that Brian Flores has proven to be an excellent defensive coordinator. So, too, does defensive backs coach Daronte Jones demand respect. Can these coaches find some way of unlocking Okudah in a manner that previous coaches haven’t?
Other topics to come up in the quick media conversation with Jeff Okudah? A desire to play physical football, learning from Harrison Smith, and maintaining a high standard in practice.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap 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 Bluesky (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
