Minnesota Vikings head coach, Kevin O'Connell watching, watching the team's pre-season opener against the Houston Texans on August 9, 2025.
Getty
Minnesota Vikings head coach, Kevin O'Connell watching, watching the team's pre-season opener against the Houston Texans on August 9, 2025.
The third pick of the 2020 draft, Jeff Okudah is looking for a fresh start with the Minnesota Vikings.
After failing to finish out his rookie deal with the Detroit Lions, Okudah has spent the past two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons (2023) and the Houston Texans (2024) as a rotational contributor, starting nine games in that span.
He has a chance to resurface as a top-three cornerback for the Vikings, who traded away third-year corner Mekhi Blackmon as a sign of confidence in Okudah and the rest of the cornerback room.
Following the final roster cuts, Okudah has made a change that represents his new start in Minnesota.
On Tuesday, September 2, the Vikings announced Okudah would change his number from No. 21 to No. 8, which was left vacant after the team traded Sam Howell to the Philadelphia Eagles. Kirk Cousins wore the No. 8 jersey from 2018 to 2023.
Okudah has changed his number many times throughout his career, originally wearing No. 30 for his rookie year in Detroit. He changed to No. 23 for the 2021 season and No. 1 for the 2022 season, the first year after the NFL expanded flexibility for more positions to wear single-digit jerseys.
Okudah wore No. 1 in Atlanta and No. 11 in Houston.
Vikings Need a Breakthrough Performance From Jeff Okudah
Jeff Okudah Lions
GettyDetroit Lions cornerback Jeff Okudah working out before an NFL game.
When the Vikings signed Okudah to a one-year, $2.35 million deal, it was a low-stakes gamble by the front office to see what the former No. 3 overall pick had left, entering his sixth season with his fourth team in the league.
It didn’t take long for Okudah to make an impression, which has ultimately raised the stakes for Okudah, whose career has been hindered by injury.
“You don’t see him lose very much when he gets his hands on people,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said at the beginning of training camp. “I see a clear role for him. Not all corners in our defense play the same spots, play the same roles. To think that we’re going to have him in a role we feel pretty strongly about; it’s great to see him taking a run with it early on, because I think he’s had a phenomenal camp.”
Despite Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers atop the cornerback depth chart, Okudah was taking first-team reps in nickel packages. The Vikings deploy three safeties frequently in nickel packages as well, but Okudah’s candidacy as a fifth defensive back for the defense should see him garner plenty of work this season.
The Blackmon trade to the Indianapolis Colts only added to the stakes that Okudah, who had visited for a workout just months earlier, will be relied upon this season.
However, there has been chatter that the Vikings should add another veteran cornerback to the roster ahead of the season.
Vikings CB Depth Limited With UDFA as Last Line of Defense
Beyond the top-three cornerbacks trio of Murphy, Rodgers and Okudah stands Dwight McGlothern, an undrafted rookie from the 2024 draft.
McGlothern has garnered much praise from the Vikings over the past year but has yet to play a single regular-season snap.
The 23-year-old could be in line for much more work this season, considering the Vikings only have four cornerbacks on their active roster entering the season opener.
That may be a cause for concern if any of the corners ahead of McGlothern miss time.