Should the Vikings Regret Moving on from Mekhi Blackmon?
It was a little shocking to Vikings fans when Mekhi Blackmon was traded to the Indianapolis Colts to reunite with former Vikings safety Cam Bynum before the season for a 2026 sixth-round pick. Blackmon was revered in the State of 10,000 Lakes as a young corner with a lot of promise. Unfortunately, he was robbed of his entire sophomore season in 2024 when he tore his ACL during one of the first Minnesota training camp drills in July.
The front office was high on him, too, selecting him in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, which was higher than many would’ve expected him to be selected. Obviously, with the cornerback room that the purple team got together during the 2025 offseason, along with a potential setback of Blackmon post-injury, the team saw it fit to let him go for late-round compensation.
So, should the Vikings regret moving from Blackmon? This is not a usual article-style rhetorical question left to the reader after they take in the information the author provides; the answer is no. Let’s add some context:
Simply put, the Vikings have the best pass coverage defense in American football. The further context is that Blackmon isn’t exactly having a stellar year. Yes, he is tied for the most interceptions in the league with two, but they were rather “right-place, right-time” plays.
Additionally, Blackmon’s PFF grading is nothing to write home about; his 54.6 overall grade is 116th out of 171 corners, and his 50.0 coverage grade is 132nd. In fairness, his 63.6 pass-rushing grade is 23rd, and his 75.6 run-defense grade is 19th.
So far, in the six games that Blackmon and the Colts have played in 2025, the corner has played 194 coverage snaps. In those reps, he has been targeted 24 times and allowed 17 receptions, a 70.8% completion percentage allowed. Over those 17 receptions, receivers have gained 271 yards at 15.9 yards per reception. Quarterbacks have an 87.3 passer rating when targeting Blackmon.
These numbers shouldn’t really inspire you to “miss” Blackmon, especially with the earlier context that the Minnesota Vikings quite literally field the best defensive coverage in the National Football League, led by Pro Bowler Byron Murphy Jr. and standout free-agency acquisition Isaiah Rodgers.
This is not in any way to dunk on Mekhi Blackmon; I loved the potential he showed before he unfortunately went down with that major injury. This is meant to illustrate the point that the Vikings should not regret moving on from Blackmon, a move that caused some to scratch their heads at the time of the transaction.
Brian Flores and his crew are doing perfectly fine after moving on from him, and it’s not out of the question that Blackmon could continue to develop in Indy after a rough beginning in 2025.
