Minnesota lost two starters out wide, Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes, in addition to the team’s nickel corner from 2019, Mackensie Alexander.
That might add up to trouble in 2020 for some teams, but honestly those three as a unit left something to be desired, something that maybe the younger, more inexperienced cornerbacks can build off of.
There’s Rhodes, who had zero interceptions last season. Picks don’t tell the whole story, so let’s look at advanced stats. He earned a coverage grade of 46.5 last season, according to PFF.
There’s also Waynes, who was decent, but only had eight pass deflections and one interception. He earned an overall grade of 65.1 from PFF.
Now let’s look at Alexander. I’d say of the three corners the Vikings let walk, he might have been the best, despite being the nickel corner. Earlier I made the case for the Vikings to re-sign him, but to no avail; he’s gone.
Alexander was a good nickel corner, but the Vikings have a first-round pick who could possibly play that position: Jeff Gladney. He was the No. 31 overall pick out of TCU. He is a physical corner who might be a good fit for the slot due to his strength and relatively small size.
There’s also Mike Hughes and Holton Hill, both of whom have had their question marks at times, but both have also been good when on the field. If Hughes can stay healthy and Hill can play all 16 games, I actually kind of like Minnesota’s chances of having a better cornerback unit than in 2019.
Cameron Dantzler is another corner. He may be more of a project due to his weight. But you never know, maybe he’s able to put on some pounds this offseason and be big enough to play outside.
You also can’t forget about the Vikings having two of the best safeties in the NFL: Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris. That duo can minimize mistakes the young corners make, and maybe Smith will play back deep more now that the cornerbacks are a little less experienced.
Overall, there are definitely unknowns regarding this current Vikings secondary, but those unknowns could prove to be an upgrade over Rhodes and Waynes, two players who were inconsistent while with the Vikings.