3 unsung heroes from the Vikings win over the Saints in Week 10
By Clay Vasquez
2. Vikings young cornerbacks
This section could be about three separate Vikings players, but instead, all three of them together will be talked about here.
Akayleb Evans, Mekhi Blackmon, and Andrew Booth Jr. all played their part in Minnesota's win over New Orleans, showcasing that Minnesota has some special young talent at the cornerback position.
Evans ended the day against the Saints with an 82.1 pass coverage grade from PFF, with no receptions allowed and a pass breakup to his credit.
The 2022 fourth-round pick out of Missouri has been a solid contributor to the Vikings' defense all season, proving to be one of the best tacklers on the field, even from the cornerback position. His performance against New Orleans was much of the same, as he was all over the field making plays for the defense.
Blackmon has been one of the brightest shining players lately for Minnesota's secondary, and his game against the Saints was just another solid performance in his rookie campaign.
He ended the day with a 76.9 pass coverage grade from PFF, with two pass breakups, and he even secured his first career interception. The rookie out of USC has shown stellar flashes over the past few weeks, silencing any of the doubters who questioned the Vikings selecting him in the third round of the 2023 draft.
Booth didn't play as much as the other corners mentioned here, but he had himself a quietly solid outing this past weekend. He played 17 coverage snaps, posting a 75.2 pass coverage grade from PFF, and he allowed zero receptions on the day.
Booth may not be the lockdown corner that some envisioned when he was drafted, but he has come a long way from being the "bust" that many labeled him as so early on in his career. At the very least, Booth has proven to be a solid rotational piece who still has some major upside to his game, and this past game against New Orleans showed this once again.
All in all, the young Vikings cornerbacks balled out against the Saints, showing that the secondary room may just have life after some dark years from that unit.