A Minnesota Vikings rookie corner has been turning some heads at training camp.
Heading into this year’s training camp for the Minnesota Vikings, most have been expecting big things from rookie cornerback Jeff Gladney.
Gladney was selected by the Vikings in the first round of last spring’s NFL Draft and there’s a good chance that he will play an important role for the team’s defense this season. But during the first portion of this summer’s training camp, it has been a different Minnesota rookie corner who has been making plays all over the field and earning praise from veteran players.
Drafted by the Vikings in the third round this year, former Mississippi State cornerback Cameron Dantzler has been making the most of his opportunities in practice so far.
Adam Thielen impressed with the Minnesota Vikings rookie corner
One of the best ways to tell how talented a player is out on the field is to hear from the players on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage that they have to go up against.
Dantzler has been able to get a few snaps with Minnesota’s first-team defense recently and that’s resulted in him having to try and cover Adam Thielen. On Monday, the Vikings posted a highlight clip of the rookie making a very impressive play during one of the times in which he had to go up against Thielen.
Not around The Needle#VikingsCamp pic.twitter.com/IDM31relIk
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) August 17, 2020
Dantzler certainly made a nice play on the ball and it immediately got Minnesota fans all over the internet excited about the rookie’s potential to make an impact this season.
Not to pour cold water on everyone’s excitement, but we have to remember that this was just one play from Monday’s practice. Dantzler is a rookie and he’s going to make some mistakes this year, but he’s definitely making a great first impression on his coaches and teammates.
After the practice session, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer told Minnesota’s KFAN Radio that Thielen came up to him on Monday and said, “(Dantzler’s) gonna be good.”
Those comments from the Vikings veteran receiver are pretty significant. Thielen has gone up against a number of elite cornerbacks around the NFL, so it’s not very hard for him to tell when a defensive back has the potential to be special.
From what Thielen told Zimmer on Monday, it sounds like Minnesota might have got a steal in the third round of this year’s NFL Draft. Hopefully, Dantzler can continue to make plays for the Vikings once the regular season begins in a few weeks.