Minnesota's Cornerbacks Are Heard But Not Seen

The Minnesota Vikings are 4-0. If you had predicted this two months ago, people would've called you crazy. Now? Experts are heralding them as the best team in the league.

No one player is solely driving winning for the Vikings. It’s been a complete team effort. The offense is putting up Madden numbers. The defense looks like the ‘85 Chicago Bears, and the special teams unit has been perfect outside of a muffed punt against the Green Bay Packers last Sunday.

There were many uncertainties coming into this season. Would McCarthy start? If not, could Darnold produce positive results? What will the defense look like? And so on.

However, the biggest question surrounding the team was what the cornerback room would look like. Everyone knows Brian Flores can run a formidable defense through the front seven and the safeties. However, none of that works unless the cornerbacks can lock down their assignments. That question became even more complicated when rookie CB Khyree Jackson tragically passed away, and second-year CB Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL, effectively ending his season.

Four weeks in, and the cornerback group is straight ballin’. Although the defense has given up a considerable amount of passing yards, much of that has to do with the fact that Flores is almost forced to play prevent defense because the offense puts a bunch of points on the board early in games. Still, the defense as a whole has allowed the fourth-least points by PTS/G average. You can spin those stats however you’d like, but that doesn’t change the fact that this cornerback group has exceeded people’s expectations of them to start the season.

Fourteenth-century author John Mirk had a famous adage: “Children should be seen and not heard.” That phrase applies in reverse for cornerbacks. Talk trash and stay off the TV screen. Cornerbacks who do that are usually pretty good.

For most of the season, I’ve forgotten that Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Griffin, and Byron Murphy Jr. are on the field because I rarely see them during the game. That means opposing quarterbacks can’t or won’t throw their way due to their good coverage.

They’re going to get beat every once in a while. Cornerback is arguably the hardest position to play in football; they have to read the receiver and stay one step ahead of him. Still, Minnesota’s corners have managed to disappear in the best way possible.

Even when they pop up on the screen, it’s usually for good reason. Take Byron Murphy’s interception and forced fumble against the Packers last Sunday, for example, or Griffin picking off Jordan Love. Even Stephon Gilmore had an impressive pass breakup last week where he looked like his vintage self.

They may keep a low profile while on TV, but don’t mistake that for introversion. Murphy, Griffin, and Gilmore have unique personalities. Recently, Murphy had a funny interview in which a reporter asked him how he would deal with a defensive offside triggered by Aaron Rodgers' famous cadences that get the defense to jump. When Griffin was with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he was seen leading a duval shout with the fans.

Even Gilmore, who’s known for keeping quiet and doing his work, gets riled up every once in a while. A.J. Brown called him old when he was with the Dallas Cowboys last year. Gilmore took exception, forcing Brown to fumble the ball shortly after the trash talk. Minnesota's corners are like Jay Gatsby at a big party. They rarely get spotted but always get business done in the background.

The Vikings haven’t seen a group of corners perform this well in a long time. Much of it concerns Flores being a genius at rushing the passer, making the cornerbacks’ jobs much easier. Still, in a year where they lost two young, promising corners due to devastating circumstances, PFF ranked Minnesota’s corners as the sixth-worst group. Murphy, Griffin, and Gilmore have done their job loudly but without being seen.