Mackensie Alexander – CB
Bringing Mackensie Alexander back following a one-year absence was a safe move by the Vikings. The cornerback performed superbly from a slot coverage role before deciding to take his chances on the Cincinnati Bengals, which didn’t go quite according to plan for the player or the organization overall.
Alexander immediately occupied a prominent position within a cornerback room that had Cameron Dantzler and Patrick Peterson after Jeff Gladney was released. If the Vikings were hoping for a smooth transition back for the Clemson product, they were out of luck after a series of failings in key moments.
Things didn’t go well for Alexander, who gave up five touchdowns, a 65.7 percent completion on targets thrown his way, and also conceded a 119.2 passer rating when targeted. As the old saying goes, the stats don’t lie.
Although the Vikings have some depth concerns in their secondary right now, the decision to not re-sign Alexander is a damning indictment of how the new men in charge judged his production.
Alexander is still looking for an alternative means of NFL employment. But with a talented group of corners recently entering the league from the college ranks, landing somewhere with the promise of notable reps is pretty unrealistic.