Following the selections the Minnesota Vikings made during the recent 2024 NFL Draft, there are still multiple areas of the team’s roster that are in need of some improvement before next season gets underway.
Despite using a fourth-round pick to draft former Oregon cornerback Khyree Jackson last month, it would probably be in the Vikings’ best interest to add another corner to the mix, and preferably one who has already started a solid number of games during their pro football career.
Currently, there are still a few notable free-agent cornerbacks available for Minnesota to sign, including one who is very familiar with current Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
Last season, Minnesota’s defense ranked 24th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game, last in completion percentage allowed, and 26th in opposing passer rating. The struggles of the Vikings’ pass defense in 2023 were even more significant during the final six games of the season when the team ranked 29th in passing yards allowed per game.
So, even though Minnesota drafted Jackson last month, and they signed free-agent Shaquill Griffin in March, they should still be searching to add at least one more veteran corner to their roster before the team returns to the field for the 2024 season.
Among the veteran free-agent cornerbacks who are still available is Stephon Gilmore, a two-time First-Team All-Pro and the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
During Gilmore’s first season that resulted in an All-Pro selection when he was a member of the New England Patriots in 2018, Flores just happened to be a part of the team’s defensive staff as a linebackers coach and play caller.
Gilmore’s tenure with the Patriots ended after the 2020 campaign, and since then, he’s suited up for the Carolina Panthers, Indianapolis Colts, and Dallas Cowboys. With the Cowboys last season, he started all 17 games on a defense that ranked fifth in the NFL in passing yards allowed per matchup.
