Cincinnati Bearcats cornerback Ahmad Gardner (1) celebrates a sack of Houston Cougars quarterback Clayton Tune (3) in the second quarter during the American Athletic Conference championship football game, Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. Houston Cougars At Cincinnati Bearcats Aac Championship Dec 4
The Vikings severely lack talent at the cornerback position. Targeting some people in free agency will likely be on their agenda. Specifically, they will need to obtain good cornerbacks in single coverage. Ed Donatell’s defense requires the corners to play on an island frequently, and right now, they don’t have the players to do this.
The Vikings cornerback room currently has four people under contract. Both Patrick Peterson and Mackenzie Alexander are pending free agents. With both of them out, the remaining corners are Cam Dantzler, Kris Boyd, Harrison Hand, and Parry Nickerson. Dantzler, Boyd, and Hand have all shown flashes of potential over the last couple of years. However, it remains to be seen if any of them can be a reliable starter for an entire season.
The Vikings will need to address this issue to run Donatell’s defensive scheme.
Free agency is less than 30 days away, and Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah are both in TCO. The Vikings will be digging deep into their player evaluations over the next few weeks. A few free agents to keep an eye on as the tampering period nears:
Charvarious Ward – Ward ended the 2021 season with a PFF grade of 67.8. 36th out of 122. While he had some ups and downs throughout 2021, he has proven capable of single coverage. However, there is a premium on corners who can play single coverage. The Vikings would need to pay up to get him in the building. Kwesi should absolutely take the chance.
Carlton Davis – Davis ended the 2021 season with a PFF grade of 69.9, which ranked 30th out of 122. He is one of the few free agents that is comfortable and capable of being in man-to-man coverage. However, the Bucs will likely do whatever they can to resign him. Although, if the Vikings can create enough cap space to offer him a deal, Davis would be an excellent signing.
Patrick Peterson – Peterson ended the 2021 season with a PFF grade of 63. This is a bit lower than Ward and Davis. However, it shouldn’t dissuade the Vikings from bringing him back. While some might be turned off by Peterson’s age, he is worth bringing back. Although he is not a premier lockdown corner anymore, he brings an immense amount of experience. Peterson’s experience provides more than enough value to work out a deal with him.
Depending on the outcome of free agency, we could see the Vikings use the 12th overall pick on one of the top cornerbacks. NFL draft picks always come with additional risk as you never truly know how players will transition from college to the NFL. However, there are a couple of guys with high ceilings that could be sitting there when the Vikings are put on the clock.
Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner – Gardner played for Cincinnati and played a big part in the Bearcats reaching the college football playoffs. He stands at 6’2″ and weighs 200 pounds, an ideal size for matching up against the bigger wide receivers in the NFL. However, his most important trait is confidence. If he is on the board at 12, the Vikings shouldn’t hesitate to make the call.
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Derek Stingley Jr. – Stingley Jr. is an interesting prospect. He had a stellar season for LSU as a freshman but failed to replicate that performance. Although, just like Gardner, he has ideal physical traits at 6’1″ and 195 pounds. PFF has him ranked as the 3rd overall on their big board. Depending on how the draft board falls, the Vikings could have Stingley Jr. fall in their lap.
As we can see, the Vikings have options to bolster the cornerback room. They could target players in free agency, the draft, or both. At this point, all we know for sure is that there is a lack of talent at cornerback, and there will be additions.