Once Patrick Peterson agreed to his two-year, $14 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Minnesota Vikings went from cornerback-light status to REALLY cornerback-light status. They’re still in that position, and this deal shouldn’t preclude Minnesota from taking at least one cornerback in the draft, but the addition of Byron Murphy, formerly of the Arizona Cardinals, should help a bit.
The Vikings will give Murphy a two-year, $22 million deal when the league year turns over on Wednesday, and that’s not a bad deal for where the 2019 second-round pick out of Washington is at this point in his career. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Murphy isn’t scheme- or technique-transcendent, but you can see why new Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores would be able to get the best out of him. During his time in New England and Miami, Flores presided over defenses in which aggressive press coverage was generally the order of the day, and that’s where Murphy is at his best.
Last season, Murphy (who missed the second half of the 2022 season due to injury) allowed 36 catches on 56 targets for 350 yards, 155 yards after the catch, four touchdowns, no interceptions, five pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 105.5. Based on charting, when Murphy was pressed against his receiver, he allowed just three catches on eight targets for 36 yards.
Clearly, that’s where Murphy is comfortable, and you can see it on tape. In Week 2 against the Las Vegas Raiders, Davante Adams did everything he could to shake Murphy out of press on this fade ball, and Murphy wasn’t having it.
So, while Murphy isn’t anybody’s idea of a shutdown cornerback, he’s a nice cog in a defense that’s going through all kinds of changes, and the money isn’t out of hand for what he can bring in the right coverages.