4 things we learned about the Vikings this offseason

Vikings have faith in their young cornerbacks

The Vikings did not exactly have a cache of cash to spend on free agents this offseason. But they also did not make a strong push to retain Trae Waynes or Mackensie Alexander, or so it seemed. Xavier Rhodes also departed from the squad this year, but that was as obvious of a move as the sun setting.

Retention of Alexander, at the very least, could have been fruitful from a production and continuity perspective, but they didn’t.

Instead, Minnesota selected rookie cornerbacks Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler early on in the 2020 NFL Draft. With a quick glimpse at the depth chart, it’s a forgone conclusion these two will get playing time during the upcoming season. They have to.

Third-year cornerback Mike Hughes will probably be the No. 1 corner for the Vikings this year. After him, the competition during training camp should be fierce. As of now, no other veteran corners have been added to the roster and there are some out there including Dre Kirkpatrick, Darqueze Dennard, and Logan Ryan.

Minnesota, led by a head coach with a reputation to get the most out of his defensive backs, appears to be fully comfortable with an inexperienced cornerback room in 2020.

Then again, could the play of the Vikings’ starting cornerback group conceivably be any worse than 2019? Not by Zimmer standards.