Heading into this third season with the Minnesota Vikings, cornerback Cameron Dantzler is ready to do whatever the team needs in order to win games.
As a rookie with the Minnesota Vikings in 2020, cornerback Cameron Dantzler was one of the most talked-about players coming out of the team’s training camp and preseason.
Dantzler impressed the Vikings’ coaching staff enough that year to earn a spot on the team’s starting defense for their regular-season opener against the Green Bay Packers.
But since that summer, Dantzler’s performance with Minnesota has been a bit underwhelming. Heading into the 2022 campaign, he’s ready to prove to another coaching staff that he deserves a spot on the team’s starting defense.
Cameron Dantzler says he’s willing to do whatever he can to help the Minnesota Vikings win
Earlier this year, the Vikings selected former Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. in the second round of the NFL Draft. Some believe that Booth can come in immediately and challenge for a starting role in Minnesota’s defense.
The Pioneer Press’ Chris Tomasson recently shared that Dantzler said he didn’t have a problem with the Vikings drafting a corner in the second round this year. In fact, Dantzler said that he’s looking forward to competing with Booth this summer.
"“I’m going to love competing with [Booth}. Whoever starts, it’s whatever helps the team win. It’s going to be a great battle.”"
Dantzler also revealed that he’s put on much-needed weight this offseason as he now weighs in at 191 pounds. As a rookie with Minnesota in 2020, he joined the team weighing 182 pounds according to Tomasson.
With the Vikings last season, Dantzler appeared in 14 games, but he was only a starter for seven of them. Despite not being a starter, he still finished the 2021 campaign with the highest PFF grade among all of Minnesota’s cornerbacks (17th-best graded corner in the entire NFL).
So Dantzler certainly still has some promise and perhaps a new coaching staff will be able to help him reach his full potential next season. If anything, it sounds like he’s willing to do whatever he can to help the Vikings reach their goals in 2022.