Which Cornerback Emerges for the Vikings?
Last season, it looked like the Minnesota Vikings were going to utilize Mekhi Blackmon as their third cornerback. He suffered a season-ending knee injury and never hit the field during the regular season. Now he’s back and looking to regain that momentum.
There is an opportunity at cornerback for Minnesota Vikings Mekhi Blackmon and Dwight McGlothern, but who will run with it?
Although Stephon Gilmore came in as a veteran to save the day, there was plenty of hype regarding young talents throughout training camp. Among them, Dwight McGlothern may have been the most exciting. It didn’t translate into much playing time, but that could change this year.
The Vikings’ top two corners are written in stone. Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers are Brian Flores’ starters. From there, things get less certain. It appears that Minnesota is operating under the belief that Jeff Okudah can be the guy for them. That hasn’t happened throughout his career, and he’s never lived up to the third overall pick expectations.
The Vikings’ Cornerback Options Are Up in the Air
With a level of uncertainty behind the top two options, there should be plenty of opportunity for either McGlothern or Blackmon to force their way in. The question is, who will take the chance and run with it?
Blackmon played in 15 games as a rookie and drew three starts. That’s substantially more playing time than McGlothern has under his belt. The question there is how much of a setback the knee injury caused, and where he picks up getting back on the field.
Conversely, McGlothern played in just five games and earned only 19 snaps on defense. It wasn’t enough to make any sort of developmental judgements, but the year that was may be enough to springboard him forward. He continued to work behind the scenes and looked for opportunities to grow.
Blackmon will undoubtedly be ahead of McGlothern throughout training camp, but the undrafted Arkansas product can look to close the gap. Both can put pressure on Okudah, and the more the tandem can push each other, the better off they’ll likely be for it.
It may take time for an opportunity to present itself, but one is likely to arise, and both players should attempt to capitalize on it.
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