5 most disappointing Vikings from the preseason loss to the Raiders

Perry Nickerson – CB

Perry Nickerson is one of a handful of Vikings’ cornerbacks who are fighting to fill out the bottom of the depth chart. His play against the Raiders did little to improve his standing with the team and may have even descended him down the depth chart by a few pegs.

Nickerson was shaky in coverage all evening. He was picked on by Nick Mullens and the second and third-team receivers of the Raiders, giving up easy completions time and time again.

His coverage wasn’t great but his tackling was even worse. Nickerson struggled to bring his man down and definitely isn’t a hitting cornerback. He is a grab-and-drag type of defender and that doesn’t work well when he’s trying to bring down pass catchers who are much larger than him.

Nickerson also showed some poor effort on a play where he made a lame attempt at a tackle and then just watched the ball carrier run down the field instead of pursuing him.

If you are a player like Nickerson who is scrapping for a final roster spot on this team you have to let that dawg out and fight and scrap. Nickerson didn’t do that, and his lack of grit and fight could cost him his job with the Vikings.