Last year’s training camp was rough for some Vikings. J.J. McCarthy’s debut season ended in August when he suffered a season-ending knee injury. Even a few weeks earlier, cornerback Mekhi Blackmon, another young and promising player, was lost for the season because of a torn ACL suffered in training camp’s first practice.
Promising Vikings Defender Makes Long-Awaited Return
Over ten months after the incident, the corner is back on the practice field in Vikings gear, getting ready for the upcoming season.
There’s a nice video of him looking like the knee injury never happened.
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis used social media to add a little comment to the video: “Didn’t mention it last week, but was great to see Mekhi Blackmon back out there Wednesday. Looked good. Was really eager to see him last year, injury came at brutal time. Going to be fun to follow into the fall.”
Blackmon’s injury undoubtedly was a significant blow last year. He was expected to slide into a significant role in his sophomore season, building the CB trio with eventual Pro Bowler Byron Murphy Jr. and free agent newcomer Shaq Griffin. The club then added various defensive backs. Veterans Stephon Gilmore, Fabian Moreau, and Bobby McCain all got some run in 2024.
The defender posted a solid debut season, playing north of 400 defensive snaps, mostly as an outside cornerback. He was targeted 44 times and allowed 28 catches for 285 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Blackmon also logged eight pass breakups and, when targeted, gave up a passer rating of 87.8. Just for comparison, that’s exactly the rating his college teammate Caleb Williams had in his rookie season.
Like most rookies, he had some struggles mixed in, primarily against taller receivers like Courtland Sutton and Tee Higgins. He’s 5’11”, so those issues aren’t too surprising. Learning to time the jump better or preventing the wideouts from getting into the right position in the first place might be two options to handle those situations better.
Against normal-sized wideouts, however, he showed why the Vikings used pick 102, the final pick of the third round in 2023, to acquire the USC defender. Throughout his first NFL year, he earned a 71.8 grade from PFF. That’s a solid, slightly above average number.
Minnesota now has 11 cornerbacks under contract.
- Byron Murphy Jr.
- Isaiah Rodgers
- Mekhi Blackmon
- Jeff Okudah
- Tavierre Thomas
- Dwight McGlothern
- Ambry Thomas
- Kahlef Hailassie
- Reddy Steward
- Keenan Garber
- Zemaiah Vaughn
Murphy Jr. is the obvious starter, followed by Isaiah Rodgers, whose contract he signed in free agency should give him a head start. Jeff Okudah is experienced but hasn’t come close to reaching the expectations of a player with third-overall-pick pedigree. Blackmon needs to clinch a spot in the rotation ahead of him and avoid being usurped by any depth guys like Dwight McGlothern, Ambry Thomas, or Reddy Steward.
Cornerback is still viewed by most as the one spot on defense that lacks another body or two. If Blackmon is healthy and can pick up where he left off, those theories might be moot.
Performing well this summer is crucial for the third-year player. He came into the league as an older rookie after spending time in college at San Mateo and Colorado prior to his one year at USC. Therefore, he doesn’t have too much more time to grow and needs to perform sooner rather than later.
Blackmon turned 26 in March and could be a huge component of Brian Flores’ defense.
