Vikings coach hints at possible position change for key starter

Before the injuries were too much to overcome, the Minnesota Vikings defense was really starting to round into form under defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

A big part of the equation was starting cornerback and key free agent pick up, Byron Murphy. The former second-round pick was having one of the best seasons of his career before he himself eventually fell victim to the injury bug and missed the Vikings' last three games.

The future is bright for Murphy and the Vikings and in fact, it may even change a little, as Flores recently hinted the soon-to-be sixth-year veteran could move inside. 

"I think he was planning. some really, really good football prior to his injury," Flores told reporters. "Byron's leadership, his competitiveness, his experience in the back end, I think it was very, very positive for us a year ago. We want to continue to improve on that...

"... His position of flexibility was something that I thought we took advantage of you know, perhaps we'll get him inside of nickel a little bit more, he played a little bit more outside last year, that's where we needed him."

Murphy is no stranger to playing on the inside

Before joining the Vikings, Murphy played a lot of snaps at nickel for the Arizona Cardinals. Per Pro Football Focus, 1,483 snaps came at nickel from 2019-2022 and 1,722 were logged on the perimeter.

2020 and 2021 were the years he played the most snaps on the inside. 1,067 snaps came at nickel to 562 on the outside. During those two seasons, Murphy allowed 70.8% of targets to be completed for 799 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions.

Those aren't the greatest numbers, but Murphy did see his yards allowed per snap dip from 1.27 to 1.09, and, the difference between his snaps per target and snaps per reception increased from 2.1 to 2.9. The improvement in those metrics are worth mentioning as they give a solid reflection of overall efficiency at the position.

"As far as his [Murphy's] plan, inside, outside, you know, man coverage, zone coverage, press man, off man, you know, footwork, hand placement, you know, those types of techniques and fundamentals [he has]," said Flores.

More Murphy on the inside is another reason the Vikings could take a corner in the first round

The Vikings added Shaq Griffin in free agency and Mekhi Blackmon showed a lot of promise as a rookie. Josh Metellus is still in the mix, too. At the same time, however, none of those guys have shown they can be a true No. 1 corner in 2024, so it's already worth considering taking a corner in the first round of the draft.

If Murphy plays more inside, that opens up a spot on the perimeter. It would be ideal to have a reliable guy to sub in for Murphy. That way, at least one spot is locked up. If the Vikings can't trade up and none of the "Big Four" are there, it won't be a surprise if the Vikings go CB at 11. 

"You can never have enough corners," said Flores. "It's a passing league. There's a lot of great receivers. So, you can never have enough. I think every team feels that way between the amount of receivers they can put on the field, attrition, injuries. You can never have enough good corners or really good players throughout the roster."