Minnesota Vikings: Cameron Dantzler could start in Week 1

Minnesota Vikings rookie Cameron Dantzler is impressing early in training camp.

Training camp may have just begun this week for the Minnesota Vikings but there are few players who have already stepped up and performed well while preparing for the start of the 2020 NFL season. The player that has impressed many around the team early on? That would be Minnesota’s third-round draft pick, cornerback Cameron Dantzler.

Dantzler, who was selected out of Mississippi State in the 2020 NFL Draft after the Vikings went out and selected cornerback Jeff Gladney in the opening round of the draft, is trying to fight for a spot right out of the gate in his professional career at the back end of the Minnesota defense.

And good news for both Dantzler and the Vikings is that all signs in the first few days suggest that might exactly be the case.

During Minnesota’s first training camp practice on Monday, Dantzler spent a little bit of time during a scrimmage lined up against the Vikings’ top wide receiving target Adam Thielen. During the scrimmage, the rookie cornerback made the play of the day when he dove to break up a pass attempt to Thielen, which resulted in some high praise by the Pro Bowl wide receiver.

After practice, Thielen went to Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer and told him that he thought Dantzler was going to be a solid option for the Vikings in his rookie campaign, per Vikings Wire:

"“Adam Thielen came up to me during practice today and said ’27’s gonna be really good.,’ Zimmer told the media after practice. “He’s got long arms, he’s got good length.”"

The praise from Thielen speaks volumes, since he’s a player that typically receives attention from some of the top defensive backs in the NFL week-in and week-out.

With that praise, it’s another example of how Dantzler could emerge as an early-season candidate to start in the back end of a Vikings defense that will need multiple cornerbacks to step up to fill some key holes within that position.

Dantzler has plenty of opportunities on the Minnesota Vikings defense.

Following the departure of Xavier Rhodes, Mackensie Alexander, Trae Waynes and others this offseason, Minnesota is basically left with third-year cornerback Mike Hughes to lead the way at cornerback this season. After drafting Gladney in the opening round of last April’s draft, he was viewed as the other option to go alongside his fellow rookie. Although that could still be the case, Dantzler could make a strong case that the No. 2 cornerback spot should be his.

Prior to being selected with the No. 89 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Dantzler spent three seasons at Mississippi State while anchoring the back end of that defense at the collegiate level.

A physical player with a lot of length and the ability to match up against any receiving target, Dantzler recorded 108 career tackles, five interceptions, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recover for Mississippi State. In his junior season in 2019, Dantzler tallied 40 tackles, two interceptions, one fumble recovery and 0.5 sacks in nine games.

If Dantzler is able to live up to the early hype that he has gotten so far in training camp, the addition of him to the Vikings defense could be a much-needed boost on that side of the ball. If his impressive play continues, don’t be surprised to see the rookie cornerback in the starting lineup on the defensive unit in Minnesota when the 2020 season begins.