Do The Vikings Have a Slot Solution?
K. Joudry
|
In today’s NFL, a slot corner is essentially a starter. Quite often, analysts still refer to defenses by their front, with 4-3 and 3-4 being the two most common. That being said, it’s somewhat misleading to do so given that a linebacker is taken off the field with such regularity in favor of another corner. The Vikings defense is no different, especially upon looking at the snap numbers for the slot corner last season.
In fact, the Vikings were in nickle for 63% of their snaps. They were only in their base formation for 33% of their snaps. In other words, the Vikings essentially put themselves into a 4-2 defense so they could add another corner to their backend for almost 2/3 of their snaps. Mackensie Alexander was the main option even though he struggled. He played in 16 games, getting in on 61% of the defensive snaps.
The slot, then, has become a de facto starter even though football parlance sometimes hides this reality.
The current frontrunner for the Vikings slot duties is Chandon Sullivan. Last year, he played 674 snaps in the slot, far more than the 106 he had along the outside. Patrick Peterson, in contrast, only had 14 snaps in the slot. Cameron Dantzler did a little better, but his number is still a modest 32 snaps. In other words, Sullivan is the only one equipped to take on slot duties on the Vikings roster.
Plenty of mocks have sent Trent McDuffie in the Vikings’ direction. He’s someone who could help the Vikings to solidify their slot position. Moreover, Bryce Callahan is still a free agent. The veteran has a history in the Ed Donatell defense and a history of playing slot corner at a high level. Depending on how the draft plays out, the team may look to a veteran in free agency to solidify the corner room.
Indeed, more needs to be done. If Sullivan struggles or gets hurt, the Vikings are in a brutal spot with the slot position. I’m looking for them to add another player who can specialize in slot duties, further fortifying the defense.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”989841″ player=”26281″ title=”WATCH%20What%20is%20the%20Patriots'%20draft%20approach” duration=”165″ description=”AP sports writer Kyle Hightower joins Carolyn Manno to discuss the New England Patriots.” uploaddate=”2022-04-09″ thumbnailurl=”undefined” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/989794/989794.m3u8″ width=”16″ height=”9″]