The Minnesota Vikings' free agency has framed what they might do in next week's NFL Draft.
Pouring roughly $300 million in new contracts for 14 incoming free agents, the Vikings are set to take the best player available. Minnesota seems set at cornerback: re-signing Pro Bowler Byron Murphy Jr., adding former Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers and expecting Mekhi Blackmon to seize a starting role in his third year.
However, as Mike Zimmer once said, " you can never have too many cornerbacks."
A week before the draft, KSTP's Darren Wolfson reported that the Vikings remain in talks about Shaq Griffin, who appeared in every game last season for the Vikings, including three starts, and played over 500 defensive snaps as the third cornerback on the roster.
Earlier this month, Griffin visited the Seattle Seahawks, the team that drafted him in the third round of the 2017 draft, but he remains a free agent.
"There's still some dialogue about Shaq Griffin over at TCO [Performance Center]," Wolfson said April 17 on SKOR North.
Griffin, 29, is far from his 2019 Pro Bowl self, but the veteran cornerback was an asset in Brian Flores' defense that requires high football IQ and instinct over sheer athleticism.
On a one-year, $4.55 million contract, Griffin played 597 snaps, allowing a 54.5% reception rate and a 76.2 passer rating in coverage -- both best marks since his rookie year.
Griffin offers competent play at an affordable price tag that would allow the Vikings to address other positions early in the draft. They could still select a cornerback in the later rounds who can develop and compete alongside Dwight McGlothern and Jeff Okudah for the final two roster spots.
