In an offseason where the Minnesota Vikings defense bulked up in the trenches, adding Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave at defensive tackle, we’re still waiting for the team to address the outer edges of the field. Would Minnesota go all-in on a big Jalen Ramsey trade? Might they bring back Stephon Gilmore for the 2026 season?
Or, as it’s increasingly looking like, will they do nothing from here on out?
The Vikings didn’t abandon the cornerback position completely this offseason. They re-signed Byron Murphy Jr., poached Isaiah Rodgers from the Philadelphia Eagles, and bought low on Jeff Okudah, the oft-injured former No. 3-overall pick. But is that going to be enough for a team that already struggled to slow down NFC North receivers like Amon-Ra St. Brown, D.J. Moore, and Jayden Reed?
If it is, it’s going to be up to Mekhi Blackmon.
Remember, the Vikings didn’t even sign Gilmore last season until after Blackmon tore his ACL at the start of training camp, wiping out his sophomore season. Brian Flores was confident that Blackmon was going to take the next step following a successful rookie campaign. “I thought we were going to see a different version of Mekhi, a better version of Mekhi,” he told the media following the injury. “And quite honestly, I think we’ll see that moving forward.”
Now, Blackmon is moving forward, and the Vikings will be relying on him to bounce back from his injury. As a rookie, he played 43% of Minnesota’s defensive snaps, resulting in a regular, yet still part-time role. We can assume Murphy will continue to play most every snap. As for the rest of the cornerback room? It’s all up for grabs.
Rodgers saw his role decline after going from the Indianapolis Colts in 2022 to the Eagles last year. He took about 45% of the Colts’ snaps in his age-23 and -24 seasons, and just 36% of the snaps on defense in Philly at 26. Granted, he performed well and was behind Darius Slay and rookie sensation Cooper DeJean on the depth chart, but we don’t know whether Rodgers is ready for that full-time gig.
Blackmon hasn’t proven it, either, but this is his third year of marinating in Flores’ system, which should give him an inside edge. So should his performance as a rookie, which set a high standard for his career.
Opposing quarterbacks targeted Blackmon 52 times in 2023, on which he allowed 32 catches and a QB rating against of just 81.8. If we insert those stats into 2024, his Defender Passer Rating would have ranked 28th among 117 defensive backs with 50-plus targets, slightly ahead of Slay (81.9) and Ramsey (83.2). Not bad company to be in.
PFF was also high on Blackmon’s rookie season, naming him to their 2024 All-Breakout Team before the injury. Not only was his coverage solid, but he looked like a bona fide playmaker. He had just one interception, but his eight pass breakups were tied for 22nd that season, and that was in only 329 snaps in coverage. To compare, Gilmore led the Vikings with eight pass breakups last year, but he had over 250 more snaps to accomplish the feat.
Vikings rookie Mekhi Blackmon doing a terrific job playing through the receiver to break this pass up.
The third-round pick out of USC has had some really bright flashes as a rookie. pic.twitter.com/robxL9Fh7h
— Seven Rounds in Heaven (@7RoundsInHeaven) December 24, 2023
If we plug-and-play Blackmon’s 71.8 PFF Coverage Grade from 2023 into the 2024 team, he would have finished just behind Murphy for the team lead (72.6). He also would have provided a sizable upgrade from Shaq Griffin (62.4) and Gilmore (60.4).
That’s a solid foundation to build on, but Blackmon has to fight more than just the injury to take the next step. He must prove that he can maintain that level of production while taking on tougher assignments more frequently. While we mentioned that Rodgers is unproven in a full-time role, he was still fantastic as a part-time player. PFF graded his coverage as a 74, which was 19th among corners with 200-plus coverage snaps. Blackmon might have familiarity with the system, but he still needs to beat out Rodgers for snaps.
But laying out that last roadblock for Blackmon partly reveals why the Vikings have been so hesitant to address their corner group during this last wave of the offseason. It’s clear the Vikings believed in Blackmon then, and they haven’t wavered. If they’re right, and they’re right that Rodgers can push him for that CB2 role in the defense, then they have a much more solid cornerback room than it appears.