By: Jake Rajala

The Minnesota Vikings cornerback group wasn’t well-equipped to stop Aaron Rodgers and nearly the rest of their opposing quarterbacks in 2021. The veteran CB Patrick Peterson was expected to be a star player last season, but he only garnered a 63 grade by PFF. Peterson, who is a three-time All-Pro, returned on a friendly one-year deal worth $4 million dollars with the Vikings in 2022.

The soon-to-be third-year CB Cameron Dantzler has been a modest CB2 in a Vikings uniform. Dantzler registered a stout 73.8 grade by PFF last season. The Vikings added their much-needed muscle in a rookie by the name of Andrew Booth Jr and he should be an impressive force ASAP. The former Clemson CB that ousted 10 pass breakups and 5.5 tackles for loss in his junior season shockingly fell to the Vikings in the second round of the 2022 draft. He could be the x-factor for the Vikings defense moving forward.

The Vikings will also rely on CB Harrison Hand — who is entering his third season in the league. Hand had a mere five tackles in 2021, but he is line to garner more production next season.

All in all, it’s obvious that the Vikings don’t have the greatest experience at their CB3 and CB4 spot. Their youth is a part of the reason why the Viks CB spot isn’t the most inspiring position group. Hence, it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if the very improved NFC North team added more ammunition to their CB group.

The Vikings defense could certainly benefit from adding one of the following available FA CBs: Trae Waynes, Janoris “Jackrabbit” Jenkins, Joe Haden, Kevin King, and Xavier Rhodes. I’m sure that fate will ensure that Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, and Kirk Cousins put up frequent fireworks. Although, the Vikings will need to feel their utmost confidence in stopping opposing NFC signal-callers from mopping the floor against their secondary.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Minnesota Vikings have new energy under first-year head coach Kevin O’Connell. With that said, I’m going to simply untwine three profiles to keep an eye on in OTAs – as they could turn heads in 2022.

Irv Smith Jr.

The Vikings 23-year-old TE Irv Smith Jr. hauled in five touchdowns (in 13 games) in 2020. Unfortunately, Smith Jr. missed the entire 2021 season via a meniscus injury. I really expect the athletic TE returns healthy, improve his tool-kit, and be quite involved under his creative HC. Per Vikings Territory, Smith has already had great communication with Cousins and he also feels that he will be targeted a lot in the offense. Smith Jr. should honestly have superb match-ups with Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen, and Dalvin Cook mostly hogging the attention of opposing defenses.

Christian Darrisaw

The Vikings 2021 first-round draft pick Christian Darrisaw had a roller-coaster rookie season. Most importantly, he progressed as the season 2021 season evolved. PFF graded his five best games in the final six games of the season. The high-powered offense will desperately need consistent, blind-side protection and the confident Darrisaw should continue to build off his recent rookie performances.

Cameron Dantzler

The third-year CB Cameron Dantzler is off to a good start in 2022. Per Inside the Vikings, Dantzler has added more weight to his frame this off-season. He’s also gotten stronger and quicker. His weakness was his size, but it’s clear that he really became well-rounded this off-season. With Patrick Peterson at CB1, the young CB could aspire to bully WR2s on a frequent basis moving forward.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Minnesota Vikings finished with a disappointing 8-9 record in the 2021 season. In the Mike Zimmer-less era, the Vikings hope to reach the playoffs next season. The Vikings new head coach Kevin O’Connell and new GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah added more ammunition this off-season and it’s clear the shiny Vikings should hold their heads high heading into the 2022 season.

With that enunciated, I still believe it’s possible that the Vikings add horses from the FA pool. I will untwine three free agents that would be superb fits for Captain Kirk and the Vikings new direction.

• Xavier Rhodes

The Vikings had the 28th ranked pass defense last season and it’s clear that the Vikings needed to improve their CB spot this off-season. They nicely brought back Patrick Peterson and then Andrew Booth slipped into their hands in round two. I still believe Xavier Rhodes would be a nice, physical CB and he may start at CB2 over the shaky Cameron Dantzler. If the Vikings can transform from a porous pass defense to a Top 12 pass defense, they could have a similar outcome in the regular season as the 2021 Dallas Cowboys.

• Phillip Lindsay

The Miami Dolphins weren’t scared to ink RB Sony Michel and I’d like to see the Vikings become creative by inking the underrated Phillip Lindsay right now. Lindsay and Dalvin Cook could truly be like thunder and lightning. The UDFA legend would be the perfect replacement for Cook if the Vikings RB1 continues to have injury issues.

• Julio Jones

There are a lot of NFL teams that have excellent WR trios and it may be wise for the Vikings to supply Cousins with as much explosion as possible. Julio has to be thrilled about the combination of one on one matchups and roster talent in Minnesota. The NFC has the LA Rams, TB Buccaneers, Aaron Rodgers, and the Dallas Cowboys, so the Vikings will need to score a lot of points in their potential 2022 NFL playoff gauntlet.

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