Jeff Okudah may have experience and pedigree working in his favor, but he also has a clear challenger for his spot in Mekhi Blackmon.
The Minnesota Vikings nickel-cornerback spot is up for grabs, and although Okudah has the edge, Blackmon may end up winning out when training camp breaks.
Okudah, who the Detroit Lions selected with the third overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, has bounced around since leaving the Motor City in 2023 and landed in Minnesota this off-season.
He had eight tackles and one pass defended in eight games with the Atlanta Falcons in 2024 then signed a one-year, $2.35 million contract in Minnesota in free agency.
But Blackmon is building a case that, if healthy — he is recovering from a knee injury that cost him his entire 2024 season — he should be Minnesota’s primary inside cornerback, especially the way he played in the team’s first preseason game against the Houston Texans.
How Did Vikings Cornerbacks Play Against Houston?
Both Blackmon and Okudah are listed as backup cornerbacks on the team’s depth chart, but Blackmon is named as the starting nickelback on ESPN.com — though that may be due to the fact many of Minnesota’s starters sat against the Texans on Saturday.
Still, according to Ryan O’Leary of The Viking Age, Blackmon is the most likely player to push Okudah for the top inside-corner spot.
“Blackmon is clearly the top challenger to Okudah, whose limited action vs. the Texans was tough to gauge,” O’Leary wrote. “Okudah worked exclusively on the outside. He was the man in coverage when Houston quarterback Davis Mills found wide receiver John Metchie III for an 18-yard gain, a key play that led to the Texans’ lone touchdown of the game.”
On the contrary, Blackmon was noticeable in a good way Saturday in Minnesota’s 20-10 win over the Texans. He played the third-most defensive snaps (34), led the team in tackles (5) and had four solo tackles too, according to Pro-Football Focus.
“Itâs fair to say the arrow is pointing up (albeit slightly) on Blackmon,” O’Leary wrote. “He was used prominently with the second group on Saturday, and PFF notably charted 20 snaps where Blackmon lined up in the slot.”
Who Has The Edge For The Vikings’ Cornerback Spot?
It’s fair to believe Blackmon, the Vikings’ third-round pick (No. 102 overall) in 2023, will have a role with the team in 2025. Plus, there’s always the chance things will look different in Minnesota’s second preseason game, Saturday afternoon against the New England Patriots.
But according to Alec Lewis of The Athletic, Blackmon was deemed a “faller” in his assessment of the first preseason game due to his primary play with the second team. Minnesota’s primary defensive-back starting corner Byron Murphy Jr. did not play, and Okudah and Isaiah Rodgers took the outside sports.
So even though Okudah had just a 31.0 overall grade per PFF in 2024, the vet has the edge.
“This isnât about Blackmonâs play Saturday. … This is more about his current role,” Lewis wrote. “Cornerbacks Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah were the featured corners, and it feels like itâd take a drastic change (from health or performance) to alter that standing.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Vikings Starter Predicted to Face a Tough Battle for His Job After First Preseason Game appeared first on Heavy Sports.