Vikings cornerback Jeff Gladney might be on the smaller side, but he plays the game in a physical way.
Remind you of anyone?
Gladney has drawn some comparisons to former Vikings corner Antoine Winfield for his style of play.
“I’ve heard the comparison to him a lot and I’m just trying to live up to it and leave my history,” Gladney said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.
Gladney was also asked if he sees similarities in his game to former Minnesota corner and current Vikings defensive backs coach Terence Newman. Gladney conceded that he had not heard that comparison before.
“But I guess so, when it comes to coming up in the open field and making tackles,” Gladney said of the comparison. “I mean, I kind of pride myself on that and that’s what I like to do.”
Arguably Gladney’s most memorable play this year was keeping Packers tight end Robert Tonyan in bounds in the fourth quarter. That might not sound like much, but Tonyan is a tight end and needed to get out of bounds, only to be kept in by Gladney. The play ended up costing Green Bay a lot of time late in the game and the Packers lost.
That just shows what the rookie can do as a physical presence on the defense. If he keeps it up, I’m sure the comparisons to physical corners of the past will continue.