It has been awhile since the Minnesota Vikings have gone into a season with the talent and depth at cornerback that they currently have. Still, they could use some help at the position, and there are a ton of potential free agents to choose from if they want to dip into that pool.
Antoine Winfield is a possible cap casualty, although it seems unlikely, and A.J. Jefferson is a restricted free agent. Thus, there are no pressing vacancies at the position at this point, but an NFL team can never have too many good cornerbacks and should never stop looking for upgrades.
Top Tier
Despite the lengthy list of free agent cornerbacks, I am not sure that any belong in this category, but I feel most strongly that Leodis McKelvin out of Buffalo has the highest ceiling. Plus, he is the most likely to actually hit the open market since Buffalo has so many pending free agents. He has been pretty solid as a spot starter and provides excellent skills on special teams, and I think he could compete for a starting job across from Chris Cook while also helping out the special teams unit.
Keenan Lewis was very solid for Pittsburgh as a starter in 2012 and could start for most NFL teams, including the Vikings. Meanwhile, Miami’s Sean Smith underachieved for most of last season, but there is little doubt he still possesses the ability to play at a very high level in this league.
Second Tier
4. Aqib Talib, NE
5. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, PHI
6. E.J. Biggers, TB
7. Greg Toler, ARI
8. Captain Munnerlyn, CAR
9. Derek Cox, JAC
10. Chris Houston, DET
11. Brent Grimes, ATL
12. Kyle Arrington, NE
13. Antoine Cason, SD
Third Tier
14. Jerraud Powers, IND
15. Will Middleton, JAC
16. Jacob Lacey, DET
17. Michael Adams, ARI
18. Bradley Fletcher, STL
19. Adam Jones, CIN
20. Ryan Mouton, HOU
21. Mike Jenkins, DAL
22. Stanford Routt, HOU
23. Tracy Porter, DEN
24. Darius Butler, IND
25. Chris Owens, ATL
26. D.J. Moore, CHI
27. Pat Lee, DET
28. Cary Williams, BAL
Third Tier
29. Terence Newman, CIN
30. Sheldon Brown, CLE
31. Joselio Hanson, OAK
32. Chris Johnson, BAL
33. Kelvin Hayden, CHI
34. Zack Bowman, CHI
The Rest
35. Elbert Mack, NO
36. Marcus Trufant, SEA
37. Marquice Cole, NE
38. Chris Carr, SD
39. Bruce Johnson, NYG
40. Derrick Martin, NE
41. Justin King, PIT
42. Nate Clements, CIN
43. Justin Tyron, NYG
44. Rashean Mathis, JAC
45. Drayton Florence, DET
46. Brandon McDonald, TB
47. Brice McCain, HOU
48. Quentin Jammer, SD
49. Will Allen, NE
50. Antwuan Molden, JAC
51. Brian Witherspoon, NYG
52. Shawntae Spencer, OAK
53. Alan Ball, HOU
54. Michael Coe, DAL
55. Cedric Griffin, WAS
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Aqib Talib was doing a good job on covering Anquan Boldin before he pulled his hamstring...
Off field problem ( something to do with a gun? not sure )
Think he has stayed out of trouble since then...
I wouldn't touch Talib with a 10 foot pole. Great talent but you can't trust him. One guy that confuses me is Darius Butler. He had such a promising rookie season for the Pats and then fell off the face of the planet. I really thought he would develope into a good player.
I think E.J. Bigger could be a target for Rick Spielman, upside, should come farely cheep and is still young. Problem though as far as I remember, Tampa has a lot of cap room