Inside The Vikings

Two UDFA Cornerbacks With a Chance to Make Vikings' 53-Man Roster

NaJee Thompson and Jaylin Williams should at least stick around on the practice squad.
Will Ragatz|
Two UDFA Cornerbacks With a Chance to Make Vikings' 53-Man Roster
Two UDFA Cornerbacks With a Chance to Make Vikings' 53-Man Roster

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Minnesota Vikings

Much has been made about the standout play of Vikings undrafted rookie Ivan Pace Jr. during training camp — and for good reason. Pace has been getting first-team reps at inside linebacker and is a lock to make the 53-man roster in a couple weeks. OLB Andre Carter II has been banged up, but he's another UDFA who is a strong candidate to make the roster due to the guaranteed money the Vikings doled out to sign him.

Looking beyond that duo, two other UDFAs stand out as potential dark horses to make the 53-man roster: Cornerbacks NaJee Thompson and Jaylin Williams.

The Vikings' CB room remains wide open beyond a few players at the top. Byron Murphy Jr., Akayleb Evans, and rookie Mekhi Blackmon are the starting trio, with Joejuan Williams and Andrew Booth Jr. currently behind them in the pecking order. Then there's players like Thompson and Jaylin Williams, who have interesting cases to at least stick around on the practice squad.

With Thompson, it's all about special teams. The self-proclaimed "best special teams player in the country" was phenomenal in that phase during his Georgia Southern career, and he carried that over to his first NFL preseason game. Thompson dazzled as a punt gunner, beating his man for an immediate tackle on one rep and downing another Ryan Wright punt at the Seahawks' 2-yard line. 

A clip of the first play went viral as an example of how to make an NFL roster.

"He flashes," Kevin O'Connell said on Saturday. "We knew his ability as a special teams player in that Matthew Slater-esque quality of speed, power, smarts, toughness, all those things. We're trying to figure out if a player like NaJee can fit in a really competitive room and ultimately how he shows his best effort, not only as a defensive back, but what he did the other night."

Slater is a big name drop from O'Connell, not that he was making a direct comparison. Slater and O'Connell joined the Patriots in the same 2008 draft class, and the former played 15 seasons and made ten Pro Bowls purely as a special teams ace.

Kris Boyd, one of the Vikings' top gunners and overall special teams players in recent years, is no longer on the roster, which could open up a spot for someone like Thompson.

"I've been watching (Thompson's tape) for quite some time now and he lives and breathes special teams," Vikings coordinator Matt Daniels said. "That's who he is at the core. He's been doing an unbelievable job. He's playing really, really confident right now."

Williams is another rookie who took full advantage of his opportunity against the Seahawks. He made a great play to read Drew Lock's eyes, come off of his man, and drop into the right area for an interception in the third quarter.

The 5'10", 184-pound Williams has worked as the Vikings' second-team slot cornerback at times during training camp (Murphy handles that role with the starting defense). He spent five seasons at Indiana, earning second team All-Big Ten honors in 2020 with four interceptions in eight games. Williams has 4.45 speed and showed his all-around game from the nickel by totaling 6.5 tackles for loss and 24 passes defended in his college career. His ability to play that specific position at a high level could be valuable to the Vikings.

Thompson and Williams are two players to keep an eye on over the next two weeks.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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