Minnesota Vikings: 3 Early breakout candidates on defense in 2020
3. Jeff Gladney
One area of need for the Vikings heading into the offseason was at the back end of a defense that has been one of the top units in the NFL over the past few seasons. After parting ways with cornerbacks such as Pro Bowler Xavier Rhodes, Mackensie Alexander, Trae Waynes and others already this offseason, the cornerback position was spot Minnesota needed to focus on heading into the 2020 campaign this season.
The Vikings did their part in filling that need during the 2020 NFL Draft, when they went out and grabbed a few cornerbacks in the first few rounds of the draft in April. Most notably, Minnesota selected TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney in the draft’s opening round.
After selecting LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson at No. 22 overall earlier in the first round, the Vikings used their second selection on defense with picking Gladney to step right into a role where he will be able to try and contribute right out of the gate in purple and gold.
After originally holding the No. 25 pick, Minnesota traded back in the first round and picked Gladney at No. 31 in April’s draft. Gladney is a great value pick for the Vikings, allowing them to immediately add a player into the mix of the back end of the defense. The cornerback is a rugged and hard-nosed player who will fit in perfectly to the mold of which Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer and the rest of the Vikings defense likes to play with.
In his career at TCU, Gladney played in a total of 50 games over four seasons, finishing with 145 total tackles, five interceptions and one forced fumble. In his senior campaign alone, he finished with 31 tackles and one interception.
During his rookie campaign, Gladney could be a nice option to move into a starting cornerback role alongside third-year cornerback Mike Hughes on the other side of the field. With the position seeing the most turnover on the depth chart throughout the team this offseason, Gladney should get a chance to prove himself and that could set him up for a breakout year in 2020.