The Vikings May Have Done It Again
When it comes to adding undrafted talent, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has a reputation to maintain. Linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. stands out as the shining example — foolish opinions aside — but there have been others. Punter Ryan Wright, edge rusher Bo Richter, edge rusher Gabriel Murphy, and corner Dwight McGlothern are just some to keep in mind.
Well, the Vikings may have done it again.
After making five selections in the 2025 NFL Draft, Adofo-Mensah got back to his aggressive ways when it came to luring UDFA talent to the Twin Cities. Meaty money got handed out, as is the GM’s wont. Among the promising players is corner Zemaiah Vaughn, someone who has been generating some buzz and hype for the early work he has been doing as a Viking.
The Vikings May Have Found a Strong CB in UDFA Process
Start off with the NFL’s true litmus test: the money.
The young corner demanded a strong financial commitment from the Vikings. More specifically, he landed $249,000 in guaranteed cash to call Minnesota home. That basic fact suggests that other teams were seeking to sign him and that the Vikings had to compete to snag him. The Vikings opted to do so, signalling their genuine desire to land the Utah corner.
Already, the trail of clues is pretty long when it comes to people noticing his strong play.
Back in early May, Craig Peters of the Vikings’ website offered an observation: “Beyond intended pass catchers, there also were back-to-back interceptions recorded. The first was by undrafted rookie Zemaiah Vaughn, which prompted O’Connell to walk over and congratulate him. The second was by sixth-round pick Kobe King, a linebacker out of Penn State.”
So, too, has Alec Lewis of The Athletic offered some praise.
On June 11th, the Vikings beat writer shared this observation on social media: “Not going to make too much out of OTAs/minicamp, but one guy who keeps flashing to me is Utah undrafted corner Zemaiah Vaughn. Just always around the ball, never seems out of place.”
Standing at 6’3″ and weighing 187 pounds, Vaughn possesses a really nice build to be an NFL corner. In fact, he’s the team’s tallest corner. Whenever he steps on the field, the 6’3″ size is going to go with him; it’s an attribute that can’t be taught but, rather, something one is born with.
Mr. Vaughn spent all five of his college seasons at Utah. In 2024, the defender put together 40 tackles, 2 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 1 interception (brought back for a score), 5 passes defended, and 1 forced fumble.
The numbers tell us a bit of a story, don’t they? Clearly, he got leaned on to blitz some, as the sacks indicate. And then the TFLs — to my mind, at least — point toward a corner who either gets tasked with playing closer to the line of scrimmage (like a box safety, perhaps) and/or who is a menace at disrupting bubble screens/shorter passes.
Do note that he had 632 snaps as a wide corner while picking 37 in the slot, 31 in the box, and 7 along the d-line.
On PFF, Zemaiah Vaughn earned a modest grade for his final college season, coming in at just 65.5. The number is a strong drop off from the 76.9 grade from 2022 and 74.7 grade from 2023. One wonders if he was tasked with a lot of responsibility (again, think the sacks and TFLs). In Minnesota, the task may involve simplifying things, allowing him to focus on being a boundary corner while slowly putting more on his shoulders over the years.
Truth be told, folks, no one makes the final roster in May and June. However, there are some players who lose their roster spot in May and June. Zemaiah Vaughn is not among them.
Rather, he’s a young corner who is trending in the right direction. He’ll soon go into having some weeks off before training camp arrives. The best thing he could do is likely to find some sort of balance between work and rest while committing himself to understanding his responsibilities on defense and specials. Doing so will allow him to hit the ground running in late July when training camp gets going.
Zemaiah Vaughn is 23.
Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference CFB, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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