4 players that must step up for the Vikings in the 2022 season
By Luke Parrish
Cameron Dantzler – CB
Cameron Dantzler is a fan favorite and for good reason. He has put up some impressive numbers in his first two seasons with the Vikings despite not getting full trust from the coaching staff. After rotating in and out of the lineup for two years, it seems inevitable that Dantzler will take over a starting job in 2022.
Patrick Peterson will likely start on the outside with Dantzler holding down the opposite side of the field until rookie Andrew Booth Jr. is healthy and up to speed. Booth will also probably hang on to the nickel spot which would force Dantzler into a more prominent role on the perimeter.
Minnesota’s defense has been atrocious of late and they have to limit how many points they give up. Even if they believe the offense is built to win shootouts, it is obviously a risky approach that must be fixed moving forward.
The secondary needs to take strides in 2022 and that starts with shutting down the perimeter without relying on Harrison Smith to save the day. Smith is 33 heading into the season and while he has still played at a pretty high level, he cannot sustain that impact forever. At some point, there is going to be a significant drop in production and this team has to be prepared.
Dantzler needs to clean up his coverages and be more consistent throughout the season. For every big play or strong game he had, Dantzler had just as many poor performances which resulted in limited playing time.
Partly at the fault of Zimmer and his approach with coverages, Dantzler was too comfortable playing off coverage and allowing space at the line in situations that did not warrant that sort of defense. He cannot give eight yards of separation at the line on a 3rd-and-2 as much as he did in his first two seasons.
He also gave up the devastating last-second touchdown to the Lions because he offered way too much of a cushion. Small things like that will make the difference between a rotational cornerback and a lockdown starter that this team can trust.