he NFL draft is over and late-stage free agency has begun, leaving teams like the Minnesota Vikings looking to fill positions of need they didn’t address via rookie additions.
In 2023, the Vikings’ defense saw an uptick under new defensive coordinator Brian Flores; nonetheless, stopping the pass remained a problem. Following a season in which they gave up 3,986 yards through the air, Minnesota finished 24th in the NFL.
On Sunday, April 28, Bleacher Report’s David Kenyon listed the Vikings as the team that cornerback Xavien Howard would most likely sign with. The Dolphins cut Howard earlier in the offseason in an effort to save $18.5 million against their salary budget.
Howard was fully cleared for football activities on the Wednesday before the draft, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. With the draft now over, teams will likely begin reaching out to him soon.
Similar to Nelson, the Texans and Colts are worth mentioning as possible landing spots for Howard. The same goes for the Minnesota Vikings, whose defensive coordinator is former Miami head coach Brian Flores. Howard yielded 6.8 yards per target last season and only one touchdown on 62 targets.
Howard dealt with a foot injury that cost him four games during the regular season. But while 2023 was a down year for Howard, he earned Pro Bowl honors in each of the previous three campaigns and four times total over his eight-year NFL career.
Howard signed a five-year deal worth $90 million with Miami in April 2022, though will presumably sign a This offseason, a much lesser contract somewhere. The judgments made by Minnesota in the last two drafts indicate that they require further assistance in the secondary.
The Vikings selected Khyree Jackson of Oregon in the fourth round of this year’s draft, their third overall choice, after adding cornerback Mekhi Blackmon of USC in the third round of 2023 (their second overall pick of that year).
The Vikings utilized their first pick on Day 3 to address their need for physical corners who can play man coverage after having no picks in the second or third rounds, as reported by the Star Tribune on Saturday. “Jackson, a 6-foot-4 cornerback, demonstrated his willingness to challenge receivers by running a 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. .. He possessed The Ducks had three interceptions, seven pass breakups, two sacks, and five tackles for a loss in the previous campaign.
In his debut season, Blackmon participated in 15 games, but he only started three. Byron Murphy Jr. and Kayleb Evans, who Pro Football Focus classified as the 87th and 99th best cornerbacks in the NFL last year, respectively, out of 127 players who saw enough snaps to qualify at the position, were Minnesota’s regular starters in 2023. According to PFF, Blackmon was ranked 32nd, despite playing fewer snaps against supposedly easier opponents more frequently than Murphy or Evans.
While Evans, a fourth-round pick in 2022, has two seasons left on his contract, Murphy just has one more season left on his deal. This summer, Minnesota also signed veteran wide receiver Shaq Griffin to a one-year contract.
The 31-year-old Howard is probably not the Vikings’ best long-term option. He will play in 2024. If he were to sign with Minnesota, though, his career trajectory might be similar to that of former Vikings CB Patrick Peterson.
Eight-time Pro Bowler Peterson arrived in Minneapolis as a 31-year-old veteran in 2021. He had two productive seasons on a cheap contract with the Vikings. The defense benefited from Peterson’s play/pay combination, as he started 30 games while recording 20 pass breakups and 6 interceptions.
