Report: Vikings sign CB Jeff Okudah, former top draft pick, to 1-year deal

Okudah was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft and is still just 26 years old.

Atlanta Falcons cornerback Jeff Okudah (1) warms up before the Detroit Lions game at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Vikings are signing cornerback Jeff Okudah to a one-year deal, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. The 26-year-old former No. 3 overall pick had "multiple options," Schefter said, but chose to sign with Minnesota after visiting TCO Performance Center on Monday.

After a standout career at Ohio State, Okudah was the third overall pick — behind only Joe Burrow and Chase Young — to the Detroit Lions in the 2020 draft where the Vikings landed Justin Jefferson at No. 22. Injuries plagued his first couple seasons, including an Achilles tear that cost him basically all of the 2021 campaign. Okudah started 15 games for the Lions in his third season, but struggled to live up to his draft pedigree.

Two years ago, the Lions traded him to the Falcons for a fifth-round pick. Okudah started nine games for Atlanta but largely continued to struggle in coverage. Last year, he signed a one-year deal with the Texans and missed a big chunk of the season due to injury, playing fewer than 100 defensive snaps.

Five years into his career, things haven't gone the way Okudah envisioned when he was a star cornerback prospect coming out of OSU. He's played in just 44 games, starting 31 of them, and has two career interceptions. He'll look to revive his career under Brian Flores in Minnesota.

For the Vikings, this gives them additional depth and competition at the corner position, where they've already re-signed Byron Murphy Jr. and added Isaiah Rodgers and special teams ace Tavierre Thomas this offseason. They also have 2023 draft pick Mekhi Blackmon coming off of last year's torn ACL that cost him his second season. Listed at 6'1", 205 pounds, Okudah adds some size and physicality to a room featuring smaller players in Rodgers and Blackmon.

It's a worthwhile low-cost flier for the Vikings, who will get to see what Flores can potentially bring out of a player who has rare size and athletic tools for the position. Okudah has been a strong run defender and tackler in his NFL career, he's just had a tough time in coverage, where he's allowed a 66.3 completion percentage and 106.3 passer rating on targets to his assignment, according to PFF. If he can take a big step forward in that regard, there could certainly be a path to significant playing time at outside corner in Minnesota's defense.

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