Although the Minnesota Vikings added cornerback Byron Murphy during free agency, their cornerback room is relatively thin.
Outside of Andrew Booth, Jr. and Murphy, the Vikings don’t have another established starter, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores prefers to use three cornerbacks.
ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum released a mock draft earlier this week and gave the Vikings another starting cornerback in Penn State’s Joey Porter, Jr.
The Vikings could not stop opposing quarterbacks last season, allowing the third-most passing yards per attempt in the NFL (7.7). Now they’ve lost their best cornerback in Patrick Peterson. They did sign Byron Murphy Jr., who can play inside and out, but the Vikings could use another corner in Brian Flores’ man-to-man scheme. Porter is tough and physical, and he has rare 34-inch length for the position at 6-3 and 193 pounds. And despite zero interceptions, Porter did break up 11 passes last season for the Nittany Lions.
Porter makes a lot of sense in Brian Flores’ defense, especially considering his ability in man coverage. His length should allow him to play press-man on the outside, and he should be able to cover most wide receivers in the NFL.
Drafting Porter would also allow the Vikings to move Byron Murphy to the outside. Although Murphy can play on the boundary, he’s best utilized in the slot, where the Vikings currently do not have an established option. Porter would solve two problems in the Vikings’ secondary.
