Purple Draft Profile: Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison
Another offseason in Vikings football means another offseason where the team will need to invest significant capital into their cornerback room. Each of the team’s top three cornerbacks from 2024 in Stephon Gilmore, Byron Murphy Jr., and Shaquill Griffin are pending free agents, though it is likely the team will offer an extension to Murphy Jr.
Minnesota will also be getting the promising Mekhi Blackmon back this coming season after an ACL tear during the first practice of training camp in July sidelined him for the entirety of last season.
Even with Blackmon returning and Murphy likely to return to the purple team in 2025, the Vikings will still need to address the position this offseason in a big way. Insert Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison.
Notre Dame CB Benjamin Morrison
The 21-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona stands at 6’0 tall and weighs in at right around 190lbs. Morrison played the entirety of his three-year collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame, ultimately (and disappointingly) ending with a 34-23 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2025 National Championship. He is 23rd on Mel Kiper Jr.’s big board and 17th on PFF‘s.
Over the course of his entire collegiate career, Morrison allowed only 4 TDs in coverage (0 in 2024) and produced 9 interceptions for the Fighting Irish. He never allowed a season-long completion percentage of over 49.0%, and allowed opposing QBs an impressively-low passer rating of 44.1%. Morrison only committed one penalty in 2024, included in his only 11 over the course of his college time.
In fairness, as context for his 2024 numbers, Morrison sustained a hip injury in October that sidelined him for the rest of the season. Still, his numbers from 2024 remain impressive for the time he did play, as does his 2023 box score. That year, Morrison produced 3 interceptions and led Notre Dame in PBU’s with 10. His play in 2023 catapulted him to be a semifinalist for the Thrope Award, which was awarded to Air Force’s Trey Taylor.
Looking over the first 2 years of his career, he would go against some pretty prominent wide receivers in the college football (and now NFL) world. In 2 games against Marvin Harrison Jr., Morrison allowed only 8 catches for 88 yards. Against Jordan Addison, he allowed 3 catches for 45 yards. Zay Flowers, Josh Downs, and Brenden Rice would all fail to achieve more than 46 yards on him. Most impressively with hindsight, he held BYU’s Puka Nacua to 0 catches.
Morrison Officially Declares For 2025 NFL Draft
A couple days ago on January 23rd, Morrison took to social media to bid farewell to Notre Dame and declare for the 2025 NFL Draft:
Morrison’s Traits
What makes Ben Morrison stand out as a possibility for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in this draft is his elite quickness and exceptional ability to change direction, allowing him to stay tight in coverage and mirror receivers with ease. His ball skills and awareness are very evident, judging by his nine career interceptions.
Morrison’s hips are fluid and he possesses a smooth backpedal, allowing him to stay true on vertical routes and quickly close on underneath routes to limit yards after the catch. His natural athletic ability paired with his high football IQ allows him to bait quarterbacks into bad throws, creating opportunities for big plays.
He does have a bit of a smaller frame, standing at 6’0 but only being 190lbs, but he’s a willing tackler who isn’t afraid to contribute in run support. His ability to be versatile, with effectiveness in both man and zone coverage as well as the run game, makes him a promising prospect with a lot of potential to boom in Brian Flores’ defense.
While Morrison is obviously impressive, he’s still a college prospect, and there are some areas of concern that could limit his success at the next level. The main one is a lack of ideal size and length may create matchup issues against bigger receivers like Amon-Ra St. Brown or Rome Odunze in the NFC North.
He can also struggle at times in press coverage (a big component of Flores’ defense) or when fighting through blocks in the run game because of his lack of size. Whichever team that drafts him will likely have him in the weight room immediately.
Occasionally, Morrison relies too much on his athleticism, leading him to get caught peeking in the backfield, which can result in blown coverages. His tackling technique also needs improvement to consistently take down NFL-caliber ball carriers.
Morrison’s Fit Into Brian Flores’ Defense
The Vikings defense is well-known for being “dynamically aggressive,” often mixing coverages and relying on the pass rush to get home while the corners hold things down in coverage for a couple seconds. Morrison’s style of play aligns well with the opportunistic approach that Flores has built over his career and brought with him to Minnesota.
Morrison has shown the ability to cover a variety of receivers, from bigger, physical wideouts to quicker, more elusive ones. This versatility would make him a great fit for Brian Flores and his defensive unit, who have to face teams like Green Bay and Detroit twice a season that possess very effective games in the air, though they are stylistically different.
