Vikings Territory: Meet The Vikings Top ‘Bounceback' Candidate For 2021

Press release from Vikings Territory:

2021-08-18

The Minnesota Vikings harbor several players with the capability to “bounce back” in 2021, most of them seeking a return to form from injury.

Other than them, though, few Vikings require a rebound from poor performance. Players like Irv Smith Jr. and Garrett Bradbury face pivotal seasons for their respective development, but they’re not really bouncing back from anything. Smith and Bradbury – products of the 2019 NFL Draft – just need to grow.

Patrick Peterson signed with the Vikings on – wait for it – St. Patrick’s Day, bolstering a secondary that was abnormally lousy in 2020. In addition to Peterson, Minnesota also welcomed Bashaud Breeland, Mackensie Alexander, and Xavier Woods to the secondary, a total revamping for a squad that finished 24th in the NFL during 2020 for passing yards allowed.

2011: 49.6
2012: 79.2
2013: 78.7
2014: 61.6
2015: 79.9
2016: 79.8
2017: 69.2
2018: 82.5
2019: 68.6
2020: 55.2

But there is a conspicuous crater from 2019 onward, likely why PFF and ESPN foresee a potential bounceback. On his candidacy for doing so, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin wrote:

The good news for Peterson and the Vikings? The enterprise will not collapse if he fails to fully return to his pre-2019 ways. He merely needs to be pretty good in a Vikings defense because head coach Mike Zimmer now has a slew of defenders to support the veteran cornerback – unlike last year. Last season, the reliable defensive commodities were Eric Kendricks and Harrison Smith – then crickets after that. Some players stepped up admirably – like Cameron Dantzler and Todd Davis – but most of the defenders surrounding Kendricks and Smith were backups masquerading as starters.

Peterson is committed to the Vikings for one season and eight million bucks. If all goes well, he can sign up again in 2022 when the salary cap expands, continuing his career’s second act – hopefully in purple and gold.

This press release was produced by Vikings Territory .The views expressed here are the author’s own.