There was a need for more help in the secondary for the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. After the team shored up their defensive line earlier this week in free agency, the Vikings signed cornerback Captain Munnerlyn on Thursday to a three-year, $15 million contract. Munnerlyn is just 25 years old and played his first five seasons with the Carolina Panthers. He had 74 tackles this past season and added two interceptions, which is returned for touchdowns. The move is solid for a young cornerback and he will definitely help the Minnesota secondary out a lot.
The question that will need to be answered though is whether or not Munnerlyn will be an every down corner or will he play more of a nickel position. He is just 5-9 and with tall receivers in Calvin Johnson and Brandon Marshall in the division, it could be tough for him to match up on a play-by-play with those two. The Vikings may need to continue looking for cornerback help in free agency and the upcoming NFL Draft.
There are some draft experts who think that the Vikings are still going to be looking for a quarterback with the No. 8 overall pick. It would still be wise however for the team to be looking more at Oklahoma State cornerback Justin Gilbert with that pick. Gilbert is six foot and would match up better against those taller No. 1 receivers. It would allow the Vikings to have Munnerlyn play against the opponent No. 2 receivers and in the NFC North, that usually means a shorter receiver that Munnerlyn could better match up with.
He will definitely bring drive and energy to the Minnesota secondary which is desperately needed after the team was second-to-last in passing yards allowed in 2013. There are still plenty of moves left to be made before training camp gets started in four months. The Munnerlyn signing is a positive step for the Vikings in fixing their leaky pass defense. It will be interesting to see if there are any more defensive moves made by the Vikings in the coming days and weeks. The NFC North race could get much more interesting if Minnesota can make a few more shrewd moves.
