It’s June, ladies and gentlemen.
That means that any football content we have, we must analyze to no end. That includes lists ranking players position-to-position.
The latest list we have to critique comes from Sam Monson. He listed his top 32 cornerbacks in the league. The list includes big names such as Jalen Ramsey, Sauce Gardner, Patrick Surtain, etc.
However, there was not one single Vikings cornerback listed. At least not one that’s still on the roster. Patrick Peterson snagged the 31st spot based on being “capable of very high-level play if he can be protected a little within the scheme.”
But it made me wonder about the upcoming season and the opportunity for the two young corners, Andrew Booth and Akayleb Evans, to be in this conversation next season.
New scheme, who's this?
According to early reports from OTAs, this Vikings’ defense is starting to look more aggressive. A clear sign of improvement as opposed to last year’s mundane defensive output.
Last season, the Vikings allowed offenses to get into their rhythm and their playmakers to make plays however they wanted. Minnesota ended up third-worst in DVOA against the opposing offense’s #1 receiver option. Likely due to their 23rd-ranked pressure rate, according to Pro Football Reference.
That’s all going to change with Brian Flores. Last season, the Vikings blitzed on 18.9% of their opponent’s dropbacks. In Flores’ last season with Miami (2021), the Dolphins blitzed 39.6% of the time. That’s more than twice the amount. This is twice the opportunity to confuse the offensive line and take control of the game’s tempo.
This means twice the opportunities for Booth and Evans to be lined up one-on-one with some of the league’s top receivers.
Dynamic wide receiver duos
On PFF’s top 32 wide receiver rankings, ten teams had a pair of receivers recognized as the cream of the crop:
- Miami: Tyreek Hill & Jaylen Waddle
- Cincinnati: Chase & Higgins
- Philadelphia: A.J. Brown & DeVonta Smith
- Dallas: CeeDee Lamb & Brandin Cooks
- Tampa Bay: Mike Evans & Chris Godwin
- Seattle: D.K. Metcalf & Tyler Lockett
- New Orleans: Michael Thomas & Chris Olave
- Jacksonville: Calvin Ridley & Christian Kirk
- Los Angeles Chargers: Keenan Allen & Mike Williams
- San Francisco: Deebo Samuel & Brandon Aiyuk
Seven of these pairs, marked with italic font, found themselves on the Minnesota Vikings 2023 schedule. That’s not including matchups like the post-Bye week duel with the Las Vegas Raiders with Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow. Or the fully loaded Detroit Lions offense in week 16 and to close out the season in week 18.
There will be plenty of opportunity for these Vikings cornerbacks to compete with the best of the best every week.
Opportunity is Knocking
This season is undoubtedly crucial to what is deemed a competitive rebuild for this Vikings team. The importance magnifies when you look at the secondary for the Vikings and what they have to accomplish this season.
With the way that Flores runs his scheme, there will be plenty of opportunity to make plays in the back end. As I stated before, blitzing and confusion. Safety blitzes, corner blitzes and you and me stunts from the defensive line. All these tactics will lead to more opportunities for defenders to get their hands on the ball.
Last year, the one bright spot on this defense was their ability to cause turnovers. They were ninth in the league in turnovers and tied for tenth in total interceptions.
If this defense was anything, it was opportunistic last year, even if they weren’t efficient anywhere else. I expect that opportunistic mindset to be accentuated even further this season with the help of Flores.
Nobody Believes In You
As we wrap up, let’s look at the most obvious talking point when discussing the cornerback room: nobody knows what to expect. There are far more questions than answers.
Andrew Booth Jr. is coming off of surgery for a meniscus tear that ended his season. Akayleb Evans suffered three concussions last season. Will this group even last an entire season to get a good read on how good they can be?
The front office brought in veteran Byron Murphy Jr. to help with outside corner duties in case of emergency. But I see Murphy being more of a nickel/slot chess piece that Flores utilizes in various ways.
So on the outside, it will be up to Booth, Jr., and Evans to hold down the fort until the rest of the defense fills out over the next few years. The cornerback room will be an exciting study this season as we inch closer and closer to week one.
Will cornerback be a glaring need going into the 2024 NFL draft, or will Booth, Jr., and Evans seize the opportunity in front of them?
