Could the Vikings secondary actually be better in 2020?

Even with the departure of their top three cornerbacks, could the Minnesota Vikings see their pass defense return to being among the best in the NFL in 2020?

Prior to Mike Zimmer becoming the team’s head coach, the Minnesota Vikings had arguably the worst pass defense in the entire NFL in 2013.

Then Zimmer came in and worked his magic, brought in some of his own guys, and transformed the Vikings secondary into something that eventually became a unit that was regarded by many as the absolute best in the entire league.

For the upcoming season, one of the biggest tasks for the Minnesota head coach is going to be figuring out how to improve his pass defense with a re-tooled secondary.

The Vikings lost the top three corners from their 2019 depth chart this offseason and the current players in the position group are either rookies or guys who have a very minimal amount of starting experience.

Despite the inexperience of Minnesota’s current cornerbacks, there is still a lot of potential with this year’s group. Former NFL corner Eric Crocker recently appeared on Bleeding Purple and he shared some of his thoughts on the Vikings new-and-improved secondary.

"“I really like this group. I was looking at it and I was like, ‘man, this is a very talented group.’ A lot of talent, a lot of different flavors with the size, the long guys and the short, quicker guys. But they’re just so young. So that’s the only thing you don’t know. But again, (the Vikings have) really good coaching, a really good leader in Harrison Smith, and I think it can all come together and actually be a strength once again.”"

One of the most intriguing things to watch leading up to the regular season is going to be how Minnesota figures out where to use all of their new corners on the field. Who is going to play on the outside? Who will play in the slot? Will they use a mixture of a few guys and rotate them all over the field?

Crocker is right in that the Vikings’ current group of corners is full of talent and potential. It’s just their youth and inexperience that could hold them back.

But with the combination of Zimmer and Harrison Smith essentially being an on-field coach, Minnesota shouldn’t feel too worried about their pass defense for 2020. And like Crocker said, their secondary could potentially become a strength of the defense once again next season due to all of the talent they’ve added this year.

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