The training camp buzz around Minnesota Vikings cornerback Jeff Okudah was palpable, with the failed No. 3 overall draft pick of the Detroit Lions looking poised for a major role in Brian Flores’ secondary.
Now, a third of the way into the 2025 regular season, the shine’s worn off for a free agent signing the Vikings invested high hopes in.
Per Pro Football Focus, Okudah has been the Vikings’ lowest-graded defensive player with a 40.5. He enters Week 7 ranked outside the top 100 cornerbacks in pass coverage, surrendering seven receptions on seven targets with two penalties and an opponent passer rating of 118.8.
Okudah hasn’t been hurting the Vikings’ defense, which has been elite against the pass as a group this season. He’s definitely not meeting the expectations that seemed to grow throughout the summer, though, when he routinely mixed in with the first-team defense and looked poised to see some additional reps in the slot.
That hasn’t panned out. Okudah has played in four of Minnesota’s five games, and he's averaging just 17.8 snaps as the third cornerback behind Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers.
The nickel spot has been mostly handled by Murphy and defensive back Josh Metellus. Perhaps the biggest mover in the secondary has been safety Theo Jackson, who has played starter’s reps even when Harrison Smith has been active.
There was enough positive momentum behind Okudah this offseason for the team to justify trading Mekhi Blackmon earlier this year, the Vikings’ third-round draft pick in 2023. It’s fair to wonder now if GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will look to trade for a cornerback before the deadline, as an injury to either Murphy or Rodgers could spell big-time trouble.
The Minnesota Vikings could fix their Jeff Okudah problem with one trade
Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings should be keeping close tabs on the situation currently playing out in Tennessee.
The Titans, at 1-5, have officially hit dumpster-fire status. They just fired head coach Brian Callahan six games into his second season, leaving rookie quarterback Cam Ward without his head coach and the franchise seeking new leadership for the second time in three years.
Should Tennessee drop another game this week — and that’s very likely, with old friend Mike Vrabel and the heavily-favored New England Patriots coming to town — the Titans could be looking to sell at the Nov. 4 deadline, with an eye on collecting as much draft capital as possible.
That’s where the Vikings come in. Roger McCreary, the Titans’ starting nickel, is in the final year of his rookie contract and is worth an inquiry.
While a bit on the smaller side at 5-foot-11, he fits Flores’ type as a physical player and sure tackler; in 234 defensive snaps for the Titans this season — 85 percent of them in the slot — the No. 35 overall pick in the 2022 draft has 24 total tackles and nine run stuffs.
Poised to hit free agency in 2026, McCreary could be available on the cheap. He likely wouldn’t see a full-time slot role with Minnesota, but his ability to mix in at the nickel spot would free up both Murphy and Metellus for other alignments and coverage disguises.
If anything, trading for a corner would add needed depth to a group that can’t really trust Okudah or Dwight McGlothern at this point.
Okudah was an easy player to root for throughout the offseason, and it’s still early enough to turn things around. But it’s hard to see Minnesota becoming a long-term fit for the journeyman 26-year-old.