The Newest Viking … with the Most Upside
The Minnesota Vikings have welcomed about a dozen new players from free agency and a fancy trade for running back Jordan Mason.
The Newest Viking … with the Most Upside
The team built the offensive and defensive trenches this offseason, in addition to onboarding some promising young cornerbacks.
And according to Pro Football Focus, one of the corners offers the most upside of all Vikings newcomers — Isaiah Rodgers.
PFF Picks CB Isaiah Rodgers as Vikings “Upside” Guy
PFF nominated one “high upside” player for each NFL team’s free-agent haul, and for Minnesota, Rodgers got the call.
Ben Cooper explained, “The Vikings, the only team to earn an A+ in PFF’s free-agency grades, haven’t been shy about spending money amid their lack of draft capital. Rodgers’ two-year, $11 million deal was a modest expenditure among other high-priced additions, and yet, he is positioned to be one of Minnesota’s highest-impact signings.”
“His 85.4 passer rating allowed in 2024 was a top-40 mark among cornerbacks, and he was the position’s 12th-highest-graded player in run defense (83.4).”
Most wondered how Minnesota would handle the offseason at cornerback, and the Vikings responded by re-upping with Pro Bowl defender Byron Murphy Jr. while adding Rodgers and his new teammate, Jeff Okudah, formerly of 3rd-overall-pick lore in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Rodgers’ Background
Here’s Rodgers’ Pro Football Focus resume to date:
2024: 73.2
2023: n/a
2022: 82.1
2021: 70.7
2020: 85.6
The former 6th-Round pick from the 2020 NFL Draft missed all of the 2023 campaign due to a gambling violation. One season later, he won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Here’s Rodgers’ passer rating against since 2020:
2024: 82.1
2023: n/a
2022: 113.0
2021: 78.1
2020: 142.9
Rodgers has appeared in 60 career games while starting 13. He’s never really been trusted with CB1 or CB2 duty, though that could change with the Vikings, especially if no more CB transactions are on the way.
The new defender turned 27 this offseason. In Minnesota, he’ll hope for a breakout season, not unlike the one backhandedly forecasted by PFF.
The 2025 Cornerbacks
These are Minnesota’s corners through a few waves of free agency:
- CB1: Byron Murphy Jr.
- CB2: Mekhi Blackmon
- CB3: Isaiah Rodgers
- CB4: Jeff Okudah
- CB5: Dwight McGlothern
- CB6: Tavierre Thomas
- CB7: NaJee Thompson
- CB8: Nahshon Wright
- CB9: Ambry Thomas
- CB10: Reddy Steward
- CB11: Kahlef Hailassie
Rookies like Trey Amos (Ole Miss), Jahdae Barron (Texas), Maxwell Hairston (Kentucky), Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame), Shavon Revel Jr. (East Carolina), and Azareye’h Thomas (Florida State), too, should be available in April’s draft if general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah wants a youngster in the pipeline.
Other Upside Candidates?
Most of the newcomers onboarded by the Vikings this offseason have a substantial veteran background, like Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, and Ryan Kelly.
Still, a player like Rondale Moore, who missed all of 2024 due to injury, could take off as the Vikings’ WR3. The aforementioned Okudah has upside, particularly with defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ tutelage.
And Adofo-Mensah re-signed Theo Jackson, a man in line to start after Camryn Bynum signed with the Indianapolis Colts.
But for PFF, it’s Rodgers.
One other note: Former Vikings quarterback Daniel Jones got the nod as the Colts’ upside candidate. “If Jones wins the starting quarterback job, he could guide Indianapolis to new heights, potentially a playoff berth,” Cooper wrote.
“The downside is also apparent: The Colts may have made Jones one of the NFL’s highest-paid backup quarterbacks just for him to sit on the bench all season. He won a playoff contest with the Giants behind an 80.2 PFF game grade in 2022; perhaps he could do the same in Indianapolis.”
Jones will compete for a QB1 job this summer with Anthony Richardson.
Longtime Viking Says Goodbye
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 Vikings 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.
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