5 bold questions for the Minnesota Vikings defense in 2020
By Chris Schad
Who will be Minnesota’s starting cornerbacks?
This will be a question that garners the most attention between now and the beginning of the 2020 season. With Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, and Mackensie Alexander all departing in free agency this year, the Vikings are essentially starting from scratch in the secondary and it could take a while to figure everything out.
The incumbents are intriguing, but far from locks as Mike Hughes and Holton Hill have had their ups and downs since coming into the league.
Hughes is Minnesota’s elder statesman at corner with five career starts. But he suffered a multi-ligament knee injury during his rookie season in 2018 and he ended last year by injuring his neck.
There’s also Hill, who impressed as a rookie but landed in Mike Zimmer’s doghouse last season with a pair of four-game suspensions.
That’s where the youth movement comes in. First-round pick Jeff Gladney is a sticky cornerback that would work well in the slot, but the Vikings don’t have the opportunity to teach him the position without on-field drills. Even the addition of Cameron Dantzler has potential, but he could be behind the eight-ball as well as he looks to make up for lost time.
Minnesota won’t have too much time to figure this out as they’ll face Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, Deshaun Watson, and Matt Ryan in four of their first five games in 2020. If they don’t figure things out quickly, it could be a long season for the Vikings secondary.