Our new DC isn't the Vikings GM, or Head Coach, or their old DC (Flores). So his say in the matter was extremely limited, but he was with the Vikings since 2022 as the DB Coach. When Flores came in 2023 he was given a promotion to Pass Game Coordinator & DB Coach. He's been that way for all 3 years with Flores as DC.
Vikings Secondary Draft History while Jones was there.
- In 2022, the Vikings drafted a 1st round Safety and a 2nd round Corner. Both of them were immediately in the doghouse, never saw the field, and were quickly off the team. They also drafted a Corner in the 4th round, who started for them in 2023, wasn't good, and then couldn't crack the depth chart in 2024 before being released.
- In 2023 they drafted a CB at the end of the 3rd round (pick 102), he was off the team after 1 season
- In 2024, they drafted a CB in the beginning of the 4th round (pick 108), but he died soon after being drafted and never played a game
- In 2025 they did not draft a defensive back
Well, with zero home grown players, how did the Vikings pass defense find corners?
- Free Agency, they paid big money to one corner (Byron Murphy), the other is only 5m a year.
How did they operate their Nickel?
- Big Nickel, with a Safety instead of a Corner
What does this mean for our Defensive Needs?
- At least 1 Premier corner needed (maybe he thinks Amos fits that)
- Lots of pass rush
- Versatile blitzers & versatile safeties
When do the Vikings blitz?
- 1st and 2nd down they blitz over 50% of the time, they play more coverage on 3rd down
How do the Vikings blitz?
- They like sending the Nickel Safety or a deeper Safety
- They love showing blitz by the linebackers, but will back off one or both
What type of Coverages do they use? (Data is from 2024 and not 2025)
- Mostly zone
- They tend to line-up with a super stacked box and 2 deep safeties. Where one of the deep safeties goes after the snap varies, they want versatility from that one.
- Coverage breakdown here:
Defensive Draft Targets that are likely valued a little higher:
- Pure pass rushers
- Versatile safeties that can cover decently 1 on 1, blitz, recognize route combos
- Versatile linebackers that can blitz against both run and pass, have range to show blitz then go into a further zone responsibility
Defensive Draft Targets that are likely valued a little lower:
- Slower Edges or DTs
- Run First Edge at the expense of Pass Rush is not a plus
- Man cover corners that struggle in zone
- Safeties that are worse in coverage than run support
I would guess Reese and Bailey are the top wants, with Downs above Bain. When they drafted Dallas Turner in 2024 they did so because they thought his speed rush had elite potential. Sonny Styles is probably higher than we think (maybe DJ is right). Howell is probably higher on the board than we think (if we trade back he's a target). Faulk probably is way down the board. It's also possible the Vikings would have used more Man, if they had the personnel for it, but that's not the corner grouping they got. He probably has Delane over Hood as corners. I would guess McCoy would still be highly valued.
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