Jul 28, 2018; Eagan, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings new training facility TCO Performance Center in Eagan MN. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Just when the Minnesota Vikings had a little bit of enthusiasm rolling — Christian Darrisaw receiving an extension for the long haul and beloved cornerback Duke Shelley returned on Tuesday — the injury bug struck training camp.
Second-year cornerback Mekhi Blackmon fell injured Wednesday, the first organized day of training camp activities. Regrettably, it’s a knee injury.
The Athletic‘s Alec Lewis tweeted, “Vikings CB Mekhi Blackmon just limped back into the locker room. Didn’t look good. Had been down for a while. Am told that it’s a knee injury for Mekhi Blackmon.”
Like any injury, Blackmon, his teammates, the coaching staff, and the team’s fans will cross their fingers and wait, a snakebitten feeling for a team that battled oodles of injuries in 2023. Last year, Minnesota lost Justin Jefferson, Kirk Cousins, T.J. Hockenson, and others for considerable portions of the regular season.
Pro Football Focus tabbed even Blackmon for its “2024 All-Breakout Team” in June after the young corner delivered a wonderful rookie season in 2023. Found in Round 3 of the 2023 NFL Draft, Blackmon, for some reason, flew under folks’ radar, including purple fans, last year when he should have been classified as a tremendous defensive building block, not unlike Ivan Pace Jr.
Blackmon ranked as the NFL’s 32nd-best overall cornerback back in 2023, according to PFF, a fantastic mark for a rookie and a decent grade for anybody. About 90 cornerbacks play football on any given Sunday, and Blackmon was near the NFL’s best one-third. Minnesota’s defense was infamously housed on two occasions by tall wide receivers last year: once versus Courtland Sutton and the Denver Broncos, the other time by Tee Higgins and the Cincinnati Bengals (though Akayleb Evans was the one directly on the Bengals receiver). Blackmon took some heat for allowing those plays on his watch, perhaps souring some on his otherwise commendable rookie campaign.
He also fired up an 81.8 passer-rating-against, which basically means that NFL quarterbacks turned into Kenny Pickett when targeting the USC alumnus. For reference, Broncos all-world CB Patrick Surtain II tallied an 88.2 passer-rating-against.
For context, as the extent of Blackmon’s injury is unknown, this is the Vikings CB room entering training camp:
Tight end T.J. Hockenson is already on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, and everyone will hope Blackmon’s injury isn’t similar to his torn ACL.
Blackmon turned 25 in March.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His MIN obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.