A year after being named a First-Team All-Pro, will the Minnesota Vikings cornerback finish 2018 with more than five interceptions?
No player has likely benefited more from the Minnesota Vikings hiring of Mike Zimmer than cornerback Xavier Rhodes. Since Zimmer became the Vikings’ head coach, Rhodes has seen his performance evolve to an All-Pro level.
During his first three seasons with Minnesota, the talented corner was not known picking off a ton of passes. From 2013 to 2015, Rhodes only accumulated a total of two interceptions.
However, in the last two years, the Vikings corner has a total of seven interceptions (including five in 2016). Rhodes has been able to take the guidance he has received from Zimmer and Minnesota defensive backs coach Jerry Gray and turn it to production on the field.
Minnesota Vikings
For 2018, is it possible that the Vikings corner could end the season with more than five interceptions for the first time in his NFL career?
Yes, it is definitely possible. But will it actually happen? Based on the decreasing amount of passes Rhodes sees thrown his way over the last few years, more than five interceptions in 2018 could be quite the difficult task for the corner to achieve.
Of the 282 times Minnesota’s top four corners were targeted during last season, Rhodes saw only 29 percent of those passes. Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes led the team with 104 targets in 2017 as opposing offenses opted to avoid throwing in Rhodes’ direction as much as they could.
There is no reason to think that Minnesota’s opponents are going to change their strategy in 2018 when dealing with the Vikings’ secondary. Meaning more than five interceptions for Rhodes in the upcoming season is not something that seems likely.
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Prediction: Less