Knowing the Vikings Prospects: Cornerback
It’s getting really close, folks. Tomorrow is the day to watch Draft Day in the morning, decide what to eat during the Draft (my choice is pizza, always), and get excited about who the Vikings will draft. It’s the best goddamn day of the year, bar none.
We already covered the trenches and running backs, leaving only the secondary for us to talk about. It probably is the weakest point on the roster now, with no clear young player primed for a brighter spotlight. The staff, at least right now, is relying on Mekhi Blackmon and Dwight McGlothern developing, and Isaiah Rodgers’s signing to help Byron Murphy Jr.
Knowing the Vikings Prospects: Cornerback
Although this isn’t an extraordinary cornerback class, it is very deep in Day 2, with almost 10 players who could be Week 1 starters. Travis Hunter leads the way, but names like Will Johnson and Jahdae Baron could be available at 24, while guys like Trey Amos and Maxwell Hairston could be drafted with a moderate trade down.
Will Johnson, Michigan
Do I think he will be available? No. Would I jump like a kid told he can have ice cream before dinner if the Vikings draft him? Absolutely. Johnson was a cornerstone of the national champion Michigan team in 2023, was elected an All-American, and earned Defensive MVP in the championship game.
Johnson would come in to immediately become the CB1. He can thrive in press, off-ball, zone, or man. Although he isn’t the fastest (but not slow in any way), he has more than enough athleticism to match up against any receiver, and his football IQ allows him to be in position to disrupt the play.
He will be physical with the receiver both at the snap and at the top of the route, always trying to disrupt the timing of the route. He has battled some injuries, though, missing at least one game every season, including the Big Ten Championship in 2023 and 7 games in 2024.
His biggest area of improvement would have to be tackling, especially in a Flores scheme that asks the cornerbacks to be active participants in the run game. Travis Hunter is a unicorn, but Will Johnson may be the best pure cornerback in the class.
Jahdae Barron, Texas
If Johnson is the outside corner who can stay with the opposing team’s WR1 the whole game, Baron may represent the thing Flores loves more than anything: flexibility. Throughout his career at Texas, Baron played at the slot and safety before settling more at the outside in 2024 (70% of the snaps last season).
He is the shortest player on this list at 5’10”, but his weight is in the same range as most other guys. His shorter height doesn’t stop him from making plays on the ball, leading his conference with 5 interceptions and 16 passes defended, which helped him earn the Jim Thorpe Award.
He is older, something Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has stayed away from in the first round, and will turn 24 in December. If Baron were a little taller (like an inch or two), there’s no way he would go past the Top 10 based on what he put on film. Byron Murphy showed last year that you can be smaller and still be a good cornerback for Brian Flores, and, with the versatility that Baron brings, it’s hard to imagine him not being effective.
Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
Hairston isn’t short, but he is the skinniest here, and one of the lightest in the class. Although he is a willing tackler, his lack of bulk and technique make him somewhat of a liability in the run game (at least for now).
He has great length and wingspan that, paired with his excellent moving skills, allows him to follow receivers through the route and catch up if they get past him. He has very flexible hips and mirrors routes well in man coverage. He is aware of quickly breaking on routes and disrupting at the catch point.
His frame will get him in trouble against more physical receivers, like D.K. Metcalf, but his natural movement skills, ball-hawking ability (5 INTs in 2023, just one last season but he missed 7 games and QBs were more scared to throw at him), and playmaking (3 pick-sixes) makes him a player that can develop into a very good starter in little time.
Trey Amos, Ole Miss
Amos is a bit older (recently turned 23) and played for three programs in college, with three years at Louisiana, one at Alabama, and one at Ole Miss. In these five seasons, he only started in two (2022 at Louisiana and 2024 at Ole Miss), but his 2024 was impressive, with 16 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, and 3 interceptions.
He has a good mix of height, length, and speed, and is a good athlete overall, but he is a bit stiff, sometimes losing at the top of routes. He is good at using his almost 32″ arms to break passes. If the receiver managed to put their hands on the ball, Amos would fight all throughout the catch process, trying to break it.
Shavon Revel Jr., East Carolina
There are fewer prospects that I like more than Shavon Revel for the Vikings. He is older at 24 years old, had a torn ACL in 2024, and played in East Carolina, but don’t let this stop you from liking him.
He has great size and loves to get physical with receivers (maybe a little too much). I know some of you think that because he played in East Carolina, this isn’t very impressive, but as is the case when a player outside the Power 4 gets first-round hype, you want him to be a man against boys. He wasn’t only that, he was a man against kindergarten. Revel also got the opportunity to transfer to programs like Alabama and LSU, but chose to stay close to home and at the school that gave him a chance after he went to junior college (because of his grades).
As a player, he will use his physicality and athletic ability to disrupt the timing early and at the top of the route, although he gets a little too handsy sometimes, and will also use the sideline as his friend, taking away space from the wide receiver. He is willing to help in the run game and has a good tackling technique.
Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah always say they want smart, tough players who love football. One thing that no one can take away from Revel is his toughness. He has dealt with a great amount of personal struggle and still was able to put himself in a position to be selected in the first round. I really hope the Vikings get him, but if they don’t (and he doesn’t go to the NFC North), I can’t help but be happy for him.
Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame
Morrison is a great prospect, but has one major red flag. A hill that I will die on is that injury history doesn’t matter as much when the injuries don’t have correlation between them. For example, a player missing time because he had a high sprained ankle in one year and a broken thumb in another. There is a problem, though, when the injuries follow one another. At only 21 years old, he already had two serious hip injuries, one in high school and another last season.
If he stayed healthy, there’s little doubt in my mind that he’d solidify himself as a first-round player; he showed that ability on tape. He was a freshman All-American in 2022 after having 6 interceptions and 10 passes defended, followed by 3 and 13 as a sophomore in 2023. With all that ball production, teams decided not to throw against him in the six games he played as a junior.
He’s a fluid mover who can thrive in any coverage but will be a liability early in the run game. He struggles to get off blocks and misses a lot of tackles, which NFL offenses will exploit. If his medicals return okay, and his hip isn’t a long-term problem, he can be a huge steal in the Draft.
Byron Murphy is a good cornerback, but he needs help. Isaiah Rodgers looks to have some untapped potential and could be at least a solid starter, and a couple of free agents are still available. The problem is that the team has only two young players to try and develop, Mekhi Blackmon and Dwight McGlothern. Although this is a serviceable group for 2025, the team must invest in the position’s future.
The last time the Vikings had a true shutdown corner was 8 years ago.
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