Tag: Jeff Gladney

Vikings rookie CB Jeff Gladney is ready for challenge of top WRs to start season

First-round pick Jeff Gladney is using the talent the Vikings will be playing early in the season as motivation.

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The Vikings will be relying a lot on young cornerbacks in 2020. That’s especially true with 31st overall pick Jeff Gladney

In the first six weeks, the Vikings will see Davante Adams, T.Y. Hilton, A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf and Julio Jones.

Gladney is ready for that challenge and it sounds like he’s using it as motivation.

“I’ve checked out the schedule,’’ Gladney said via the Pioneer Press. “We’ve got some good teams coming up. But our focus really is on Week 1 against the Packers right now. All the great receivers that we are going to face, I mean, that’s what you live for as a corner. So, it’ll be fun.’’

Another rookie cornerback for the Vikings, Cam Dantzler, said that safeties Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris have been huge for the development of the young corners.

Of course, we’ll have to wait until Week 1 to see if that’s the case with no preseason games.

Vikings’ safeties have been ‘phenomenal’ for young corners

The duo of Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris has been huge with the development of Minnesota’s young cornerbacks.

The Vikings will have some new, and young, faces at cornerback in 2020.

Gone are Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander. The Vikings will rely on third-year players Mike Hughes and Holton Hill, along with rookies Jeff Gladney and Cam Dantzler.

A huge help for these young players has been the safety duo of Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris.

Per ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, the communication from those two has really helped the younger corners, especially Dantzler.

Smith and Harris are two of the best safeties in the NFL and having them behind these young corners is a huge safety net for Mike Zimmer’s defense.

Even so, most are expecting the Vikings’ secondary to fall off in 2020. However, it’s not like the three corners the Vikings are losing were anything special in 2019.

Rhodes ranked 109 among corners in 2019 per Pro Football Focus Waynes ranked 48th and Alexander 51st.

These young players will surely have some hiccups, but what saved Minnesota’s secondary in 2019 still remains.

Vikings Cameron Dantzler, Jeff Gladney listed as training camp names to watch

Touchdown Wire listed Vikings corners Dantzler and Gladney as Minnesota’s training camp names to watch.

Vikings training camp is well underway, and one of the players garnering the most praise so far has been a rookie corner.

Cameron Dantzler has intercepted Kirk Cousins, broke up a pass intended for Adam Thielen and picked up praise from Thielen and Vikings coach Mike Zimmer.

You can’t forget about the corner the Vikings drafted before Dantzler, either. Jeff Gladney is also competing for spots in training camp. It should be interesting competition, considering the youth movement at Minnesota’s cornerback position right now.

Touchdown Wire has taken notice. The outlet listed Dantzler and Gladney as Minnesota’s training camp names to watch. Here’s what it said about the choice:

“The Vikings went with a full-scale change this offseason, letting (Xaiver) Rhodes, (Trae) Waynes, and slot defender Mackensie Alexander walk via free agency and selecting TCU’s Jeff Gladney in the first round, (and) Mississippi State’s Cameron Dantzler in the third. Gladney has the speed and movement skills to trail and limit downfield receivers, and Dantzler has a similar profile as a smaller, quicker defender who can make things tough against vertical passing games.”

Dantzler maybe seemed like a project at first due to his weight, but the rookie has impressed in camp. Gladney hasn’t gotten as much hype, but could still be a nice slot corner for the Vikings, maybe even working his way out wide eventually.

Vikings have two players listed as interesting additions

CBS Sports listed two Vikings rookies as interesting additions for 2020.

Minnesota saw a mass exodus in free agency, but the team made up for it in the NFL Draft.

The Vikings took 15 players, which was a record for a seven-round draft. The draft class included two first-round picks: Justin Jefferson and Jeff Gladney.

Jefferson and Gladney were recently listed in CBS Sports’ list of most interesting additions for 2020. Here’s what the outlet said about the two rookies:

“Jefferson was one of my favorite players in this year’s draft. Like Okudah, he has his work cut out for him in replacing a traded former star (Stefon Diggs). He’s not an explosive athlete, but Jefferson is a really versatile route-runner. He does his best work in the slot, where he can set defenders up and shake them out of their boots in all that open space. Adam Thielen is at his best in the slot as well, though, so it’ll be interesting to see how the Vikings deploy them.

Gladney, meanwhile, was just one part of the Vikings’ secondary overhaul. The team cut Xavier Rhodes and let both Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander walk, then did Rick Spielman’s favorite thing to do in the draft: pick a bunch of corners. Gladney leads a group that also includes Cameron Dantzler, Harrison Hand, and Kris Boyd, as well as several street free agents. He should get the first shot to start opposite 2018 first-rounder Mike Hughes, and the Vikings need him to shine from Day 1.”

Both Jefferson and Gladney could be in big roles early in the 2020 NFL season. Even if they aren’t, Minnesota will need them both to be quick learners.

Vikings Co-DC Adam Zimmer addresses options for Minnesota at nickel corner

Vikings co-defensive coordinator Adam Zimmer talked about Minnesota’s nickel corner position.

The Vikings return a player who has good experience at nickel corner: Mike Hughes.

Despite this, Minnesota co-defensive coordinator Adam Zimmer said he won’t necessarily be the slot corner for the Vikings in 2020.

“Mike has done a good job in the past (at slot) and also has played well outside,” he said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.

According to Andrew Krammer, Zimmer went on to mention a few names who could play in the slot for the team. As expected, Hughes is an option, but Zimmer also brought up Jeff Gladney and Mark Fields, per Krammer.

“We’ll give a few guys opportunities to see what they can do and find the best combination,” Zimmer said.

Gladney makes sense. He’s a physical corner and a first-round draft pick. But Fields was an interesting option for Zimmer to bring up.

Fields signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2019. Kansas City then traded him to Minnesota for a 2021 seventh-round pick. If Fields is able to win the nickel corner spot, it’d be a nice story.

NFL Analysis Network has a burning question for the Vikings

Minnesota Vikings News: Bryan Murphy of NFL Analysis Network recently listed a burning question for each team in the NFC North.

The Vikings have question marks surrounding their roster in 2020, especially on defense.

Minnesota lost a significant number of defensive players in free agency, including two starting corners out wide and the team’s nickel corner.

Bryan Murphy of NFL Analysis Network recently listed a burning question for each team in the NFC North. For the Vikings, Murphy asked: How will the CB group perform?

Here’s what he wrote:

“For Hughes, he needs to stay healthy. He has yet to play a full 16-game season for the Vikings. But when he’s been on the field, he’s been very solid defensively.

The cornerback position has a lot of new faces for Minnesota. But with some high-rated rookies competing for playing time, the Vikings might be in better shape defensively than they were last season.”

Murphy also mentioned Holton Hill in the cornerback mix. If Hill and Hughes can stay on the field, in addition to Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler adjusting to the NFL quickly, the cornerback group could actually be an upgrade.

Vikings predicted to go 9-7 by Bleacher Report

Bleacher Report had the Minnesota Vikings going 9-7 in 2020.

Minnesota was recently tabbed by Bleacher Report to win the NFC North this season.

It makes perfect sense, then, that the Vikings would be predicted to have a winning record by that same outlet. Bleacher Report had the Vikings going 9-7 this upcoming season.

Here’s what the outlet said about the Vikings:

“While the Vikings did draft cornerback Jeff Gladney and wideout Justin Jefferson in the first round, there’s no guarantee either will replace the starters lost in free agency and via trade.

With key pieces missing on both sides of the ball and a tough opening schedule—four 2019 playoff teams in the first five weeks—Minnesota may be struggling to secure a playoff spot late in the year.”

That’s not a glowing review, but the Vikings still have enough veteran pieces to compete for the playoffs. With two additional playoff spots, Minnesota could possibly sneak in with a less-than-stellar record.

Ranking Vikings rookies in terms of importance

Here are some Vikings rookies ranked in order of their importance for the 2020 NFL season.

After the Vikings saw key contributors from past seasons leave the team, Minnesota underwent a retooling of its roster.

The Vikings replaced many of the veterans with rookies who will have to adjust to the NFL level without the benefit of a conventional offseason.

Vikings Wire went about ranking six rookies in terms of how important they are to the team’s success in 2020. This won’t be a list that just goes in order of draft position. However, the Vikings drafted positional needs early, so expect to see high picks high up on the list.

There are some interesting late-round rookies and undrafted free agents who might become big contributors for the Vikings, though.

Here is the Vikings rookie class, ranked in order of importance for next season:

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7

Will Vikings’ new-look CB group step up in 2020?

The cornerback group from 2019 didn’t set this bar very high.

The biggest question facing the Vikings in 2020 will be how the defense survives the loss of familiar faces like Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander.

The new-look cornerback group will be led by third-year players Mike Hughes and Holton Hill, along with rookies Jeff Gladney (1st-round pick) and Cam Dantzler (3rd-round pick).

While Rhodes was once an All-Pro cornerback and Waynes was a former top-10 pick, replacing these players won’t be as hard to replace as one might think.

This group was really bad last season.

Last season, Rhodes finished with a Pro Football Focus grade that ranked tied for 109th among cornerbacks. Waynes finished 48th. Alexander finished 51st.

That’s not ideal.

It’s certainly no guarantee that a younger group will do any better than this group, but it’s hard to imagine their rankings being much worse than the top-three cornerbacks on Minnesota’s roster.

There will be a challenge with the rookies especially not having a full offseason getting to know Mike Zimmer’s system, but young cornerbacks have succeeded under Zimmer before.

The Vikings hope they can do it again.

The bar isn’t very high.

Vikings’ young cornerbacks listed as reason for optimism

Vikings fans, are you optimistic about Minnesota’s young corners?

Minnesota worried some when the team let Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander walk in free agency. The Vikings also saw Xavier Rhodes head to the Colts, but Rhodes struggled in his final years with Minnesota.

However, those players leaving might beget better talent to come in and replace those former Vikings cornerbacks.

Bleacher Report thinks that’s possible. The outlet listed the Vikings young cornerback group as a reason to be optimistic for Minnesota. Here’s why:

“Despite their inexperience, [Jeff] Gladney and [Cameron] Dantzler could take on prominent roles, which isn’t necessarily a disadvantageous scenario for the Vikings. They’re very different in stature—the former stands 5’10”, 191 pounds, while the latter is 6’2″, 188 pounds—but both can provide sticky coverage.

Gladney has the feisty nature to contest targets and make plays on the ball. Even at his size, he’s still physical with great awareness to disrupt opposing aerial attacks. The TCU product recorded 26 pass breakups over the last two years.”

Gladney and Dantzler can use training camp as an opportunity to stand out. If that happens, those two could easily start out wide in 2020. If I had to guess, I would say Mike Hughes takes one of the starting positions, with players such as Holton Hill and Kris Boyd being tough competition. The Vikings cornerback group will be interesting to watch in 2020.