In the leadup to the 2023 NFL Draft, Vikings.com is taking a look at prospects who have garnered a range of attention from national outlets. The series will include rankings by those national outlets, stats and background information for multiple prospects.
Vikings status at cornerback
The Vikings cornerbacks room will have a couple of new veterans joining a young core of returnees.
Minnesota signed Byron Murphy, Jr., early in free agency and added Joejuan Williams earlier this month.
Murphy is bringing 56 games of experience with 48 starts. Williams has appeared in 36 games since joining New England in 2019 as a second-round pick, but he has only started one game.
Vikings coaches believe Murphy is capable of playing on the outside or in the slot, the latter of which was manned by Chandon Sullivan in 2022. Sullivan is a free agent.
Murphy's versatility could provide the Vikings with some flexibility as they navigate the draft board, the rest of the offseason and during the season.
Surefire Hall of Famer Patrick Peterson also departed in free agency. He signed with the Steelers after starting all 30 games he played for the Vikings from 2021-22.
Duke Shelley, who was elevated off the practice squad last year and started five of the 11 games he played, signed with the Raiders after becoming a free agent.
Kris Boyd, a 2019 seventh-round pick who became one of the Vikings top players on special teams, signed with the Cardinals after becoming a free agent. Minnesota also waived 2020 third-round pick Cameron Dantzler, Sr., who was claimed by Washington.
The Vikings are also poised to return 2022 draft picks Andrew Booth, Jr., and Akayleb Evans after their rookie seasons were cut short.
Kalon Barnes (nine special teams snaps in two games) and Tay Gowan (15 special teams snaps in three games) had their first opportunities with the Vikings last season.
View the best photos of Vikings safeties during the 2022 season.
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NFC North Division Champs Clinched Playoffs Minnesota Vikings vs. Indianapolis Colts December 17, 2022 U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, MN
Expert rankings
NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah currently has six cornerbacks in his overall Top 50: 6. Devon Witherspoon, 11. Christian Gonzalez, 20. Joey Porter, Jr., 24. Deonte Banks, 34. Emmanuel Forbes and 46. Kelee Ringo.
ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr., has five cornerbacks in his overall Top 25: 8. Witherspoon, 9. Gonzalez, 17. Forbes, 20. Banks and 22. Porter.
Rankings for cornerbacks by Jeremiah, his NFL Media counterpart Bucky Brooks, Kiper, analytics site Pro Football Focus and The Athletic's Dane Brugler are listed below.
Prospects
Note: Heights and weights are from each player's profile on NFL.com (linked for each player's name).
School: Illinois | Year: Senior | Ht: 5-foot-11 ½ | Wt: 181 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: CB1
Bucky Brooks: CB1
Mel Kiper, Jr.: CB1
Pro Football Focus: CB1
Dane Brugler: CB3
2022 stats: 12 games; 41 tackles (32 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, 3 INT, 14 pass breakups
Inauspicious start to star player: Witherspoon didn't try out for football until his junior year of high school at the prompting of his mother. Although he recorded four interceptions in his first season and seven as a senior, he was given 0 stars by recruiting services. Witherspoon committed to Illinois just four days before the team's training camp in 2019. He closed his college career by garnering First-Team All-America honors from The Associated Press and being named Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year.
School: Oregon (after Colorado) | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-1 | Wt: 197 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: CB2
Bucky Brooks: CB2
Mel Kiper, Jr.: CB2
Pro Football Focus: CB2
Dane Brugler: CB1
2022 stats: 12 games; 50 tackles (35 solo), 1.0 tackles for loss, 4 INT, 7 pass breakups
Runs in the family: Gonzalez's father Hector played basketball at UTEP. His sisters Melissa and Samantha ran track in college and are on the Colombian National Team. Melissa is married to former Vikings backup QB David Blough. Christian, by the way, is speedy, too. He was clocked at 23.3 mph with a GPS.
School: Penn State | Year: Redshirt Jr. | Ht: 6-foot-2 1/2 | Wt: 193 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: CB3
Bucky Brooks: CB3
Mel Kiper, Jr.: CB5
Pro Football Focus: CB4
Dane Brugler: CB2
2022 stats: 10 games; 27 tackles (21 solo), 11 pass breakups, 1 FR
According to PFF: The son of the 13-season NFL vet recorded six pass breakups on 14 targets at Purdue. Aside from that game, nine other opponents combined to target Porter 16 times. Porter did not allow a touchdown in coverage and was credited by PFF with a 40.0 forced incompletion percentage, which was the best among players at Power 5 schools.
School: Maryland | Year: Redshirt Jr. | Ht: 6-foot-0 | Wt: 197 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: CB4
Bucky Brooks: Not ranked in Top 5 CB
Mel Kiper, Jr.: CB4
Pro Football Focus: CB3
Dane Brugler: CB5
2022 stats: 12 games; 38 tackles (25 solo), 0.5 sack, 1 INT, 8 pass breakups
Nearly off the chart: Banks turned in one of the more impressive combine workouts, running the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds (tied for third among CB participants in 2023), leaping 42 inches (led CB participants) in the vertical and broad jumping 11 feet, 4 inches (second). Those factored into an estimated athleticism score of 98 from Next Gen Stats.
School: Mississippi State | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-1 | Wt: 166 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: CB5
Bucky Brooks: CB5
Mel Kiper, Jr.: CB3
Pro Football Focus: CB5
Dane Brugler: CB7
2022 stats: 12 games; 46 tackles (26 solo), 1 TFL, 6 INT, 3 interceptions returned for touchdowns, 10 pass breakups
A record and tribute: Forbes set the FBS all-time career record with six pick-sixes after housing three as a freshman in 2020 and three more in 2022. He also finished with 14 career interceptions in just 36 games. Forbes opted to play in the Bulldogs bowl game in part to honor former Mississippi State Head Coach Mike Leach, who passed away Dec. 12, 2022, weeks before the game.
School: Georgia | Year: Redshirt Soph. | Ht: 6-foot-2 | Wt: 207 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: CB6
Bucky Brooks: Not Ranked in Top 5 CB
Mel Kiper, Jr.: CB9
Pro Football Focus: CB10
Dane Brugler: CB6
2022 stats: 15 games; 42 tackles (37 solo), 2 TFL, 2 INT, 7 pass breakups, 1 FF
A source of inspiration: Ringo's mother Tralee Hale was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2020 after he reported to Georgia. She battled and announced in March 2022 she was cancer-free and remains an advocate. Kelee bounced back from a torn labrum that year to help Georgia win back-to-back CFP Championships, highlighted by his 79-yard pick-six to end the 2021 season.
School: South Carolina | Year: Redshirt Jr. | Ht: 6-foot-1 | Wt: 180 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: CB4
Mel Kiper, Jr.: CB6
Pro Football Focus: CB6
Dane Brugler: CB4
2022 stats: 11 games; 27 tackles (23 solo), 1 TFL, 1 INT, 5 pass breakups
Close to his heart: Smith's daughter was born in the summer of 2021, and her middle name is Gabrielle in honor of his sister who suffered sudden infant death syndrome when Cam was 6. He followed his daughter's birth by recording career highs in interceptions (3) and pass breakups (11).
School: Miami (after Georgia) | Year: Senior | Ht: 6-foot-0 | Wt: 198 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: Not Ranked in Top 5 CB
Mel Kiper, Jr.: CB7
Pro Football Focus: CB7
Dane Brugler: CB10
2022 stats: 11 games; 25 tackles (18 solo), 1.5 TFL, 2 INT, 7 pass breakups
Not in his house: Stevenson returned to play for his hometown college in 2021 and was able to secure a starting spot at outside corner after working at nickel with Georgia. He locked it down in 2022, when PFF calculated his allowed completion percentage at 42.5 (second lowest among ACC cornerbacks).
Vikings status at safety
The Hitman returneth. Harrison Smith reworked his contract this offseason in order to remain with the Vikings. The 2012 first-round pick described his decision and how "it felt right to stay" with Minnesota.
Minnesota's safeties group is also returning Camryn Bynum, who started opposite Smith in 2022, as well as Josh Metellus, who filled in for Smith and dazzled on special teams.
Lewis Cine, Minnesota's first-round pick in 2022, is making progress in his recovery from the broken leg he suffered while playing special teams in Week 4.
Theo Jackson also is returning after handling 18 snaps on defense and 275 on special teams in 11 games last season.
Expert rankings of players projected as safeties
Jeremiah has one player projected as a safety in his overall Top 50: 31. Brian Branch.
Rankings for safeties by Jeremiah, his NFL Media counterpart Bucky Brooks, Kiper, analytics site Pro Football Focus and The Athletic's Dane Brugler are listed below.
Prospects
Note: Heights and weights are from each player's profile on NFL.com (linked for each player's name).
School: Alabama | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-0 | Wt: 190 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: S1 (Note: Branch is listed as a DB; he mainly handled nickel duties but many believe he could play safety)
Bucky Brooks: S1
Mel Kiper, Jr.: S1
Pro Football Focus: S1
Dane Brugler: S1
2022 stats: 13 games; 90 tackles (58 solo), 14 TFL, 3.0 sacks, 2 INT, 7 pass breakups
Pipeline continues: NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein compared Branch to former Alabama DB Minkah Fitzpatrick, the 11th overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. Branch also shares the same high school (Sandy Creek in Georgia) as Calvin Johnson and Kedric Golston.
School: Texas A&M | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-2 | Wt: 198 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: S2
Mel Kiper, Jr.: S7
Pro Football Focus: S2
Dane Brugler: S2
2022 stats: 9 games; 71 tackles (35 solo), 5 TFL, 1.0 sack, 2 INT, 1 pass breakup, 3 FF
According to PFF: Johnson started 12 games at nickel in 2021 and was issued a coverage grade of 88.7 by PFF, which ranked fourth among DBs at Power 5 schools with 400-plus coverage snaps. In 2022, PFF calculated that he allowed 140 pass yards while in coverage (tied for third among safeties at Power 5 schools).
School: Alabama | Year: Senior | Ht: 6-foot-1 | Wt: 209 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: S3
Mel Kiper, Jr.: S8
Pro Football Focus: S4
Dane Brugler: S4
2022 stats: 13 games; 71 tackles (34 solo), 0.5 TFL, 1 INT, 2 pass breakups
Battle tested: After helping the Crimson Tide win the CFP title in 2020, Battle garnered a 91.6 pass coverage grade from PFF over the course of the past two seasons (led all FBS safeties).
School: Illinois | Year: Senior | Ht: 5-foot-10 | Wt: 211 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: S4
Mel Kiper, Jr.: S5
Pro Football Focus: S3
Dane Brugler: S15
2022 stats: 12 games; 59 tackles (40 solo), 3.5 TFL, 1.0 sack, 6 INT, 7 pass breakups, 1 FF, 1 FR
Identical, except for position: Sydney's identical twin brother Chase is a running back who is in this year's draft field. Chase transferred from Western Michigan to Illinois in 2019. Sydney closed his college career by helping the Illini lead FBS in scoring defense (12.8 points allowed per game) and recorded six interceptions against one touchdown allowed on 46 targets in coverage (according to PFF).
School: Penn State | Year: Senior | Ht: 5-foot-11 | Wt: 203 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: S5
Mel Kiper, Jr.: S2
Pro Football Focus: S9
Dane Brugler: S9
2022 stats: 13 games; 74 tackles (56 solo), 7 TFL, 4.5 sacks, 4 INT, 3 pass breakups, 1 FR, 2 FF
Rare combo: Nicknamed "Tig" after Tigger from Winnie the Pooh for the way he loved to bounce as a toddler, Brown was the only FBS player to record at least four sacks and interceptions in 2022.
