Speedy Ex-Viking Joins Dolphins
Janik Eckardt
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Safety Myles Dorn just signed with the Miami Dolphins a few days ago. He was a member of the Vikings between 2020, when he signed as an undrafted rookie, and 2022. He mostly lived on the practice squad but appeared exclusively as a special teams player in 14 games with the Vikings. Dorn will be joined by another former Viking in South Florida.
Speedy Ex-Viking Joins Dolphins
Aaron Wilson reported on Twitter that the team of head coach Mike McDaniel signed cornerback Parry Nickerson. The cornerback had been a free agent all offseason. Minnesota didn’t retain him after he was on the practice squad for the majority of the 2022 campaign.
Nickerson, now 28 years old, was a standout cornerback at Tulane. He suffered a significant knee injury in his freshman year that was considered career-threatening, but he came back and put together a strong college career, playing in 45 games throughout the next four seasons, recording incredible 16 interceptions.
At his scouting combine, Nickerson turned heads when he posted a time of 4.32 at the 40-yard dash. Despite his smaller stature, Nickerson was drafted in the sixth round by the New York Jets in 2018. He played in all 16 games as a rookie, starting twice and logging a total of 322 snaps, roughly a third of that on special teams.
During the preseason in 2019, Nickerson was traded to the Seattle Seahawks, but he was waived a couple of weeks later and stashed on the practice squad, where he spent only five weeks before his eventual release. The Jaguars signed him just to put him on the taxi squad two days later. It was also just a short stint, as he was waived just before the 2020 season began, a season he mostly spent on IR with the Green Bay Packers.
Nickerson was on Minnesota’s roster in 2021 and 2022. He was on the practice squad most of the time, but he also appeared in four games and logged 17 snaps on defense and 35 as a special teamer.
Miami is the team for speedsters. They employ star wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, forming possibly the best WR duo in the NFL. Hill ranked second in receiving yards in 2022, only trailing Justin Jefferson, and Waddle ranked seventh.
But not only are their receivers fast, their running backs are, too. Raheem Mostert ran a 4.34 40-yard dash in 2015, and rookie Devon Achane fired up a 4.32 at this year’s combine. Offensive mastermind McDaniel enjoys drawing up plays for his speedy guys, as many defenses are overwhelmed by it.
Interestingly, the Vikings have the fastest player in the NFL on their roster. Cornerback Kalon Barnes ran a 4.23 40-yard dash, the second-fastest ever, only trailing John Ross, who retired in July.
Despite his speed, Nickerson will have a tough time making the 53-man roster as a late signee. The Dolphins have a stacked roster, including cornerback, although superstar Jalen Ramsey had to undergo surgery and might miss the early parts of the season.
Xavien Howard is another top cornerback, and they signed Eli Apple a few days earlier. Cam Smith was a second-round addition in the 2023 draft. He was also commonly sent to the Vikings in mock drafts.
Nik Needham is currently also hurt and waiting for his comeback from the physically unable-to-perform list. 24-year-old sophomore Kader Kohou played started 13 games last year and logged almost 900 defensive snaps. Nickerson will face a lot of competition but bouncing around on practice squads is nothing new for the veteran defensive back.
Vikings Sign Former First-Rounder
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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