Patrick Peterson – CB
There have been screams for the Vikings to get younger on defense. That does make sense, but with Brian Flores now the defensive coordinator, there’s at least one old man he will want to keep around, and that is Patrick Peterson.
Flores’ defensive philosophy is blitz-heavy while keeping the corners one on one with the wide receivers. This requires a defense to have cover-men who can play press coverage and stick to their man with no over-the-top help.
Peterson is the only current Viking cornerback who has shown the ability to do that, so bringing him back for one more season would make a ton of sense.
The Vikings do have some promising young corners on the roster. Cam Dantzler, Andrew Booth Jr., and Akayleb Evans are all exciting players but none have been able to stay healthy. We also don’t know how each would fare being put on an island in Flores’ scheme.
Having a crafty veteran like Peterson would allow Flores to run the types of blitzes he wants, without having to worry about an inexperienced corner being able to do their job on the back end.