Why the Vikings are Excited About Adding Shaquill Griffin to Brian Flores' Defense

Griffin's presence will allow Byron Murphy Jr. to shift inside to the slot.

The Vikings' most recent free agent acquisition, veteran cornerback Shaquill Griffin, is a significant one for a few different reasons. He fills a major, obvious need as a starting-caliber corner who brings a much higher floor of performance than inconsistent third-year player Akayleb Evans. Griffin can also play man coverage, which is valuable to the Vikings, and he can play on the outside, which should make all of the pieces in the secondary fit a bit more naturally.

Including playoffs, Griffin has 83 career starts and 67 passes defended under his belt. After four years with the Seahawks and two with the Jaguars, he split last year with the Texans and Panthers. Griffin, who turns 29 this summer, has earned a PFF grade above 64 in five of his seven seasons, which helps illustrate the floor he brings to Minnesota. On a one-year, $4.55 million deal, he projects as a useful addition for the Vikings, even if his signing may cost them a comp pick next year.

What Griffin's presence should allow the Vikings to do is play more man coverage. Last year, they ranked dead last in their usage of man coverage at just 23.7 percent, per FTN Fantasy. Brian Flores utilized man at much higher rates during his time as the Dolphins' head coach, and in Griffin, he now has a starter on the outside who has plenty of experience lining up in man.

Also notable is that adding Griffin should allow the Vikings to use their top cornerback, Byron Murphy Jr., in the slot more often. Murphy can do both, but he played primarily in the slot during his Cardinals tenure before lining up on the boundary out of necessity during most of his first season in Minnesota.

"He's a guy that we've had our eye on for a while," Kevin O'Connell said of Griffin at this week's NFL Owner's Meetings in Orlando. "I think Shaq fits the mold of what we were looking to add to the room this offseason. A veteran corner that's got some length, got some physicality, can play at the line of scrimmage. Really, we want to get to a place where we can play more man coverage, pair our pressures with some man coverage on the backside. Getting a veteran presence in that room on the outside to go along with Byron Murphy, who now can really shift back to that nickel spot, where he's one of the better nickels in the league, in my opinion. Any time you make a move at the corner spot, you're really making a multifaceted move."

It'll be interesting to see what the Vikings' depth chart at cornerback looks like when the 2024 season begins. Because they essentially play three safeties on an every-down basis, their base looks only have two corners on the field. That'll presumably be Murphy and either Griffin or second-year player Mekhi Blackmon, who showed promise as a rookie. Those three will all play together at times, unless Evans makes a major push to get on the field.

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