Vikings GM Pounds the Table for Newcomer
Before the NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings welcomed about a dozen new free agents, using long-awaited cap space from the fallout of the post-Kirk Cousins era.
Vikings GM Pounds the Table for Newcomer
And thanks to the team’s general manager, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, folks learned this week that Minnesota is quite high on new free agent: cornerback Jeff Okudah.
Adofo-Mensah told KFAN’s Paul Allen that Okudah has tools that are equivalent or better to any player he welcomed from last week’s draft — quite the endorsement.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Jeff Okudah
Adofo-Mensah hopped on KFAN this week, discussing Andrew Van Ginkel’s recent extension, the draft, and other pertinent topics. He also pounded the table for Okudah.
“Okudah is somebody we signed in free agency that we’re excited about. He’s as talented as anyone who got drafted last Thursday or Friday,” Adofo-Mensah told Allen.
It’s a peek into the Vikings’ roster-building soul, indicating that Okudah will be in line for a roster spot in the autumn. He’s not just a summer lottery ticket.
Okudah’s Role with Vikings
For now, Minnesota employs Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers, Mekhi Blackmon, Dwight McGlothern, and Okudah at cornerback.
Because Okudah has failed to fulfill his 2020 draft stock — the Detroit Lions picked him third overall — some interpreted the signing as a Hail Mary or non-impactful maneuver. Yet, it’s clear from Adofo-Mensah’s declaration that the Vikings very much have lofty plans for the 26-year-old.
Okudah was at his best during the 2022 campaign in Detroit, allowing an 87.6 passer-rating-against, which isn’t electrifying but is passable on a deep depth chart. He later joined the Atlanta Falcons (2023) and Houston Texans (2024) before inking an agreement in Minnesota.
Probably a Last Chance at Stardom
Any time a cornerback is chosen in the draft’s top five, that man must produce. Okudah has not. When the Lions cut ties with him after the 2022 campaign, some believed a geographical cure would do the trick in Atlanta or Houston.,
It did not.
As Okudah enters his sixth season in the pros, 2025 is likely his last chance to prove himself as a bonafide starter. The deadline has already passed for Okudah to morph into a shutdown cornerback like Sauce Gardner or Patrick Surtain II, but he could still show up in the Twin Cities and seize a starter’s job.
If he does not, Okudah will examine a career-long reservist fate after 2025.
Vikings.com on Okudah
Vikings.com‘s Lindsey Young wrote about Okudah in March: “The 26-year-old most recently played six games for the Texans in 2024, contributing both on defense and special teams. Okuda played 13 games (nine starts) for the Falcons in 2023, recording 44 tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass defenses.”
“Detroit initially drafted Okudah No. 3 overall in 2020, but the corner was hindered by injuries early on. He landed on Injured Reserve nine games into his rookie season and then again in September 2021 after the Lions season opener. Okudah joins a Vikings cornerbacks room that recently re-signed Byron Murphy, Jr., and added former Eagles CB Isaiah Rodgers.”
PurplePTSD‘s Take
Kyle Joudry of our partner website, PurplePTSD, also opined on Okudah in Minnesota last month: “One wonders about the level of competition to sign Jeff Okudah. Put differently, the amount of teams that were calling in free agency. The total compensation isn’t huge but the fully guaranteed nature of the deal says something. Did Minnesota get the corner because it was willing to ensure every dollar that’s promised in the contract actually ends up in his pocket?”
“The offseason has featured quite a bit of discussion about the Vikings successfully defeating other teams to sign free-agent talent. The reality has been discussed in relation to center Ryan Kelly, right guard Will Fries, running back Jordan Mason, and receiver Rondale Moore.”
If Okuda blew everybody away this summer, he could, in theory, win a CB2 job next to Murphy Jr.
Joudry added, “Jeff Okudah, 26, brings some much needed size to the Vikings corner room. He stands at 6’1″ and weighs 205 pounds, giving him a good shot to matchup with the NFC’s bully receivers.”
“Byron Murphy Jr. is the CB1, a reality that is very unlikely to change. Okudah will thus be competing with Isaiah Rodgers, Mekhi Blackmon, and whoever may get added in the 2025 NFL Draft for the CB2 or CB3 spot.”
Without Okudah, the Vikings’ defense ranks second in the business last per EPA/Play. He’ll enter a sweet setup.
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