Vikings Exercise 5th-Year Option for Trae Waynes
Joe Johnson
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A few days after drafting another corner in the draft with their first overall pick, the Vikings have extended another of their first-round corners (that makes three, with a fourth coming in the second round in Mackenzie Alexander). The Vikings announced this morning that they extended cornerback Trae Waynes’ fifth-year option, something that shouldn’t come as a surprise as it was rumored to be in the works for about a week. Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer loves his corners and while Waynes has taken some time to acclimate to the NFL, he’s steadily improved every season since being drafted 11th overall in the 2015 draft. As a member of the “No Fly Zone” defense at Michigan State, Waynes was used to being part of a collective defense that was capable of shutting down the professional style offenses that the Big Ten uses and that, combined with his elite athleticism, makes Waynes still capable of becoming a top corner in the NFL. While some may scoff at that, keep in mind that he’s being coached by the best cornerback coach in the NFL and has all the tools needed (height, speed, vertical) to reach the same level as his teammate Xavier Rhodes.
Let’s just compare Waynes’ athleticism to that of Rhodes. Keep in mind that he injured his groin while running his blazingly fast 40-yard dash and that hampered his shuttle run (which, ironically, is what ended up creating this site as I argued that very idea on Reddit for about a week and was basically told to leave).
But that’s just me arguing something that needn’t be. Clearly, the team believes in Waynes, this contract proves that, and 2018 will be his coming out party year. Despite that, though, there are those who thought, as recently as the beginning of last season, that Waynes was a bust and that he was going to lose his spot on the outside to the much more aggressive Mackenzie Alexander. The main complaints people had about Waynes were that he played off the ball way too much, which even with his elite speed created gaps in the Vikings zone scheme that opposing quarterbacks seemed to take advantage of a lot (especially earlier in Waynes’ career). You have to wonder, though, if Zimmer would allow Waynes to do that on his own, that sounds more like something Zimmer coached him to do as opposed to something he was doing repeatedly while being coached to NOT do that. The other complaint was that he was far too handsy, as the rules in the NFL are a lot more strict than the NCAA in terms of contact between corners and receivers. Like most young corners there was a large learning curve for Waynes, but his development actually closely mirrored that of Xavier Rhodes, who is considered a top three corner in the league.
In drafting Mike Hughes the Vikings are seemingly sending a message to their young corners that nothing is safe, however, it does seem like Hughes will at least start by playing in the slot alongside/in lieu of Alexander as he acclimates to the speed of the NFL, while perhaps filling in on the outside a la Terrance Newman (although that seems like an odd role for a number one pick).
The press release from the Vikings states:
Waynes started all 16 games for the first time in his career during the 2017 season and has appeared in 46 career games, making 25 starts. Waynes has also appeared in three playoff games with two starts. For his career, Waynes has recorded five interceptions and 35 passes defensed. The former Michigan State Spartan had a career-high 72 tackles in 2017 for the NFL’s top-ranked defense. Waynes set a career-high in passes defensed with four versus the Cleveland Browns (10/29/17) in London, England.
So, we’ll have to wait and see how Hughes will fit into the defense but considering the fact that Terrance Newman will eventually retire/die of natural causes on the field, it’s great to know that the Vikings have (potentially elite) depth in their defensive backfield. With the Vikings facing Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford four times a year, it makes sense that the Vikings would invest in their corners the way they have even if it’s been at the detriment of the offensive line. While I was really hoping that the Vikes would land offensive guard/center Billy Price on Thursday, plugging Hughes into this defense that has it’s two six-foot-plus outside corners locked in for another couple seasons, makes me excited to see what this team (and it’s defense) can do in 2018.