When it comes to the Minnesota Vikings, Brian Flores has brought it all. Exotic looks, a fierce pass rush, and attacking linebackers are staples of the scheme that the Vikings' defensive coordinator has crafted since he arrived in 2023. But when it comes to the cornerback position, it’s taken a village to bring everything to life.
The Vikings' secondary may be the weakest group in Flores’ defense. While incumbents Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers return, the rest has been a carousel with low-risk, high-reward additions like James Pierre manning the other starting spot.
Looking at the depth chart, it would be easy to think the Vikings should target a cornerback early in April’s draft. But they could follow the lead of the Kansas City Chiefs, who have flipped cornerbacks like the stars of an HGTV program to maintain their success.
It starts with a tweet by Brett Kollmann of the Bootleg Football Podcast. In his post, Kollmann equated cornerbacks to the defensive version of running backs; teams are willing to draft, develop, and flip players at the position rather than commit big money to keep them when they approach free agency.
Kollman later said that cornerbacks “should be the cherry on top of dominant trench play.”
If you’re looking for evidence for Kollmann’s take, the Chiefs are a good place to start.
Kansas City had one of the first big moves of the offseason when it traded Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams. A few days after he arrived in California, the Rams made him the highest-paid cornerback in football with a four-year, $124 million contract. They doubled up a few days after that, giving McDuffie’s KC teammate, Jaylen Watson, a three-year, $51 million deal.
Shelling out $175 million between two former Chiefs sounds like the antithesis of this argument. But Kansas City has backed it up with its success in developing corners.
The Chiefs struck gold when they took Marcus Peters with the 18th-overall pick in the 2015 draft. But when it was time to get paid, Kansas City traded him to the Rams. Later, he signed a three-year, $42 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens before the 2019 season.
Charvarius Ward was another player the Chiefs developed as an undrafted free agent. After starting on Kansas City’s Super Bowl-winning team in 2019, he left the Chiefs for the San Francisco 49ers in free agency following the 2021 season.
The Chiefs also developed L’Jarius Sneed before trading him to the Tennessee Titans, who rewarded him with a four-year, $76.4 million contract. Kansas City just kept plugging along.
With all of these corners leaving, you would think Kansas City’s defense would have fallen off at some point. But instead, the Chiefs have ranked in the top 11 of total defense in each of the past four seasons and ranked in the top 10 in scoring defense in six of the past seven seasons, according to Pro Football Reference.
That's because there’s a healthy infrastructure around those cornerbacks. Chris Jones and George Karlaftis turned into key fixtures of the pass rush. Nick Bolton and Leo Chenal were missiles at linebacker. Even Tyrann Mathieu and Justin Reid buoyed the safety spot, and it looks like a blueprint that could help the Vikings moving forward.
Cornerback isn't one of the Vikings' strengths right now, but they have a lot of things to help them play above their talent level. Minnesota’s pass rush continues to be one of the best in football with Jonathan Greenard (assuming they don't trade him), Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner. Eric Wilson and Blake Cashman form a solid duo at linebacker. Josh Metellus is a versatile chess piece. While the Vikings haven’t had success on the interior of the defensive line, Jalen Redmond has begun to emerge as a legitimate starter.
The last thing the Vikings need to do is find cornerbacks. Murphy could rebound from a tough year after being asked to play out wide more than he did in 2024. Rodgers had flashes during his first season in Minnesota, and Pierre is a sleeper who allowed 16 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown with an interception, nine pass breakups, and no penalties on 35 targets with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Minnesota's cornerback room could get even deeper when it heads into the draft. The Vikings could take a cornerback in the first round, including Jermod McCoy or Avieon Terrell. But the NFL Mock Draft Database’s consensus big board also lists Colton Hood, Brandon Cisse, Chris Johnson, and D’Angelo Ponds among players that could be available in the second round.
It’s not the flashiest way to build a secondary, and there are misses, including last season’s signing of Jeff Okudah. But it may be the way teams are beginning to construct their secondary, and it’s an opportunity for Flores and the Vikings to be ahead of the curve.
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