A Young Defender Could Make Some Noise for the Vikings in 2025
The Minnesota Vikings are entering another big offseason because a bunch of starters are scheduled to depart from the franchise as unrestricted free agents in March. That includes the top four cornerbacks, Byron Murphy, Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Griffin, and Fabian Moreau. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has to re-sign them or find replacements.
A Young Defender Could Make Some Noise for the Vikings in 2025
But what if one of the alternatives is already on the roster? Last year’s undrafted rookie, Dwight McGlothern, is primed to earn a more prominent role in his sophomore season.
Back in April, one year after Ivan Pace arrived in the Twin Cities, folks were scanning the undrafted rookie class, circling pass rusher Gabriel Murphy and cornerback McGlothern as players with a chance to make the 53-man roster and earn a spot in Brian Flores’ defensive rotation.
Murphy got hurt but remained with the club and ultimately made his NFL debut with the Vikings. McGlothern was buried on the depth chart behind the aforementioned veteran cornerbacks, but he beat out former second-rounder Andrew Booth for a roster spot and survived the season on the team while Akayleb Evans was waived.
Because of the pending departures of four cornerbacks, there is a chance for him to rise on the depth chart. His current foes are 2023 draft pick Mekhi Blackmon, who missed the entire 2024 season due to a torn ACL, and a bunch of special teams and practice squad players.
- Mekhi Blackmon
- Dwight McGlothern
- NaJee Thompson
- Nahshon Wright
- Ambry Thomas
- Kahlef Hailassie
- Reddy Steward
Of course, there will be some reinforcements, but until we know that the Vikings have signed (or drafted) at least three better players, McGlothern will be part of a competition in training camp for the roles in Flores’ secondary.
In August, head coach Kevin O’Connell praised the 22-year-old: “He’s shown up, it’s a great point, he’s shown up all camp. Not only just the cover skills that we knew he had but his fit in the defense. He’s definitely put himself right in the conversation to have a chance to make our football team.”
The team he made, indeed. He was fantastic in training camp practices and in the preseason contests, in which he barely allowed anything in the passing game.
The cornerback possesses a promising athletic profile, with the requisite length at 6-2 and a 4.47-second 40-yard dash, although it is combined with underwhelming results in broad and vertical jumps. After two seasons at LSU, McGlothern transferred to Arkansas.
He registered seven interceptions in his last two collegiate seasons against top-notch SEC competition.
NFL scout Lance Zierlein wrote about the prospect before the draft: “Ball-hawking cornerback with the eyes, instincts and ball skills to flip the field against careless quarterbacks. McGlothern can press a little bit and handle some man coverage. However, he might be at his best in zone coverages, where he can scan the field and play chess with the route combinations and quarterbacks.”
His NFL resume is barely existing, primarily filled with some garbage time snaps against the Bears. Overall, McGlothern appeared in five games and logged 19 defensive snaps and 17 on special teams. He had 12 coverage snaps, allowing zero catches on two targets. In the preseason, he was targeted four times, allowing two receptions for a total of seven yards and one interception.
Do those statistics translate to larger snap numbers? That remains to be seen, but he has been phenomenal whenever he has gotten the chance to play.
McGlothern will turn 23 years old next week, and he is a sneaky candidate for an elevated role in his second campaign in the NFL.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference CFB helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt