'Listen, learn and apply yourself': Vikings' veteran corners are prioritizing mentorship
Patrick Peterson, Mackensie Alexander and Bashaud Breeland are ready to share their knowledge
By Sam Ekstrom
EAGAN — It’s another scorcher at Vikings training camp and defensive backs coach Karl Scott is talking the cornerbacks through tackling drills.
Suddenly, a 65-year-old in shorts and tennis shoes cuts in line. Mike Zimmer takes a few steps toward Patrick Peterson and pretends to wrap him up in a tackle. “Get your butt square!” Zimmer shouts to the group, trying to be heard over the hip-hop music blaring across the practice field.
Nearby, Mackensie Alexander quietly chats with Bashaud Breeland, gesturing with his hands to show a technique. The six-year veteran Alexander pats the eight-year veteran Breeland on the helmet and they get back in line for the drill.
To Zimmer’s delight, he has some guys that have been to cornerback school.
It’s a 180 from last year’s camp when the Vikings had a leadership void that, frankly, never got filled as Minnesota played Cornerback Roulette for the season’s duration with a group that was still at the elementary level of Zimmer’s Masterclass. The only two corners with any amount of tenure, Mike Hughes and Holton Hill, got injured and only played a combined eight games. Rookies Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler started a combined 25 games, while second-year man Kris Boyd started another five. Don’t forget cameos by Dylan Mabin, Mark Fields II and Cordrea Tankersley.
The end result was a pass defense that was third-worst in net yards allowed per attempt, and a head coach that couldn’t stomach any more of it. Ironically, Zimmer claimed early last summer to be energized by the youth influx in the secondary. But by season’s end it turned into acid reflux.
The head coach has expressed optimism again in 2021 for the opposite reason. He’s got a seasoned secondary that will not only offer stability to an erratic back end, but there should almost certainly be a positive trickle-down effect from the vets to the rooks that will benefit the roster down the road.
“It’s just a different vibe,” Zimmer said, before reflecting and punctuating his point again. “I mean, it’s just a different vibe.”
‘He’s just got a good presence’
The new cornerback culture starts with Peterson, who was signed to a one-year, $8 million following two years of apparent decline in Arizona.
Zimmer’s interest in Peterson is two-fold. One, can he return to being the shutdown corner that would bolster every level of the defense? Two, can he be the type of mentor that Zimmer and the Vikings enjoyed for years with Terence Newman?
The answer to No. 1 is unknown, but the answer to No. 2 is already apparent.
“Man, the way he carries himself, the way he practices, the things he does off the field, communication skills,” Alexander told Purple Insider when asked about Peterson’s best qualities. “Him coming in here and just being a leader, you know what I mean? Coming in here and doing what he's got to do. We're all paying attention to that, and I know I appreciate it, just having a guy who's older, who's going to be in the Hall of Fame one day.”
Peterson is the type of player that commands respect from his peers — he’s probably forgotten more about football than many of them know — but Zimmer’s appreciation for Peterson stems from his willingness to both learn and teach. Not all stars can come to a new place and remain coachable, but Peterson has readily listened to what Zimmer has offered him. And if Peterson is willing to listen, then so are the young guys.
“I think he’s just got a good presence in the room,” Zimmer said. “Like in the defensive room last night, in the defensive meeting, I’m talking to him about things that I would talk to a young player about. ‘This is what’s important when you’re playing this particular technique.’ And he’s listening to it and helping there, so when I’m coaching Patrick Peterson there, I’m also seeing that Kris Boyd is listening to me coach Patrick Peterson, which is a lot different than if I’m just coaching Kris Boyd. So Dantzler has to listen to what I’m saying to Peterson. Peterson’s nodding his head, ‘Yeah, I understand, coach,’ so that whole thing brings these young guys along a little bit faster.”
That’s the type of dynamic Minnesota enjoyed for years when the presence of Newman and Captain Munnerlyn allowed the Vikings to ease in players like Trae Waynes and Alexander. Even though recently-released former first-round pick Jeff Gladney won’t be around to learn from the older corners, Minnesota still has the youthful trio of Cameron Dantzler, Harrison Hand and Boyd, who will be around beyond 2021.
“It is kind of good seeing [Zimmer] coach up Pat Pete,” Boyd told Purple Insider. “'Oh, what is he possibly telling Pat Pete that Pat Pete probably don't know or need to hear?' Whenever he's coaching him, all of us, you'll see us migrating towards them trying to listen to what he's saying or just asking Pat what [Zimmer] was telling him.”
Like Boyd, Peterson has been a young player before — granted, he was a top five pick and an immediate star — but he knows the struggles new players face: translating film work to the field, scouting the opponent, building good practice habits, etc.
The 2011 draft pick was an All-Pro his first season, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have mentors of his own.
“Adrian Wilson was one of the guys who I always watched film with,” Peterson said. “I played with Adrian for two years. Kerry Rhodes was another one. I had Rashad Johnson, who I played six seasons with. Being under those guys' wings and just them showing me how the game is played with me being a top-five draft pick, I was always relying on my athletic ability, and once I started studying film and started having the right practice habits, that's when the game started to slow down for me.
“Like my personal coach now Rod Hood always tells me, you don't want to walk away from the game with all this knowledge and not give it back. That's what I want to do. I want to continue helping these guys and give them any nuggets or tips that I can give them to help them improve their game and also help the team better.”
When it comes to “nuggets” Peterson can offer, he knows how to teach young proteges to “shorten up the menu” when they’re reacting to an offensive formation. That’s the kind of advice Vikings corners weren’t getting in 2020 when their poise late in games was suspect.
“Understanding if a receiver comes out in a flipped alignment -- which is the outside receiver is off the ball and the No. 2 receiver is on the ball -- you're going to get either a dagger, China or double slants,” Peterson said. “Just things like that so you just shorten up the menu now versus covering everything.”
If those types of lessons can embed themselves in his teammates’ brains, Peterson can benefit the Vikings regardless of his performance on the field.
Though, that’s awfully important, too.
‘It’s a beautiful opportunity’
It’s hard to say exactly when Alexander made the transition from cantankerous young player to respected veteran, but his new demeanor makes him a clear fit with the position’s veteran trio.
After a year away in Cincinnati, Alexander returned to the Vikings on a one-year deal with a new attitude that is a breath of fresh air for Zimmer.
“There were times when Mackensie was very difficult,” Zimmer said Wednesday. “He’s very fortunate I’m more hard headed than he is, but when he came back, like now, he’s like a completely different guy. He’s engaging. He’s communicating, listening to everything and not making mistakes. So, that’s been very impressive.”
Alexander was previously the young gun, a former second-round pick that wanted to play right away, but he spent his first two seasons with the Vikings playing behind Munnerlyn and Newman, respectively, on the depth chart. The recent role reversal has been eye-opening for Alexander, who now has the clarity that only hindsight can bring.
“You're a vet and you know what to do and what's expected of you,” Alexander said of his present circumstance, “and then [the young players] don't know it. They're just learning the curve and you're just like, man, you get to see where they came in. It's a whole other perspective, and you're just like, 'Wow, this is wild.' You know what I mean? It’s a blessing.”
While Alexander might’ve been disappointed in his role in previous seasons, he’ll be leaned upon heavily in 2021. With the release of Gladney, Alexander won’t have much competition to play in the nickel, where he spent over 500 snaps last year in Cincinnati.
It’s a secure feeling not having to look over your shoulder. That’s allowed Alexander to embrace his newfound leadership responsibilities.
So what is he telling the young guys?
“Be patient with the process, listen, learn and apply yourself,” he said. “Wherever they need you to be, just be there, and do it. That's the things I tell them, so they can learn from what I've been through. Just be there, be attentive, understand what to do and learn what to do.”
Zimmer once sat Alexander down and told him there were two paths he could take, and the one he started on “wasn’t the best,” in Zimmer’s words. Alexander elaborated with Purple Insider on the epiphany that helped him make the intangible shift from young kid to savvy vet.
“A lot of it had to do with the mentality, and how you carry yourself and understanding what football's all about,” Alexander said. “It's a team sport. Understand it's not about you, it's about the team and how you carry yourself throughout it, how you conduct yourself, so that's when I viewed myself and I looked at it like, 'Man, I grew up.' It's a lovely place to be for me right now. I love it.”
Breeland ‘being a role model’
After missing the first few practices as he recovered from shoulder surgery, Bashaud Breeland was given a tough assignment on his first day back at camp: Defending Justin Jefferson.
On one play, Breeland tracked Jefferson from sideline to sideline and stepped in front of an underthrown pass by Kirk Cousins for the interception. It caught Zimmer’s eye closely enough to get a mention at next day’s press briefing.
“There was a route Breeland intercepted yesterday, where the receiver had a cut split,” Zimmer said, “and so he’s kind of anticipating he’s going to come out a little bit slower and sit on the route some, and that comes from confidence and experience and understanding things.”
Breeland’s level of understanding is why he may very well jump in front of Cameron Dantzler on the depth chart. The veteran has taken a majority of the first-team reps throughout camp as he makes a push to become the outside corner opposite Patrick Peterson. In his previous seven seasons, Breeland has allowed a combined passer rating of just 85.2.
The former Washington, Green Bay and Kansas City corner is the only veteran who seemingly will need to win a competition to start. If he wins the job, the Vikings will have 25 seasons of experience between their three starting cornerbacks.
Asked about his anticipated role, Breeland said, “Coming in and bringing my physicality, helping the younger guys learn as well. Being a role model as well as come and help this team win.”
So far, Breeland has checked most of those boxes — the winning part has yet to be determined. His physicality was present at a recent practice where he lowered his shoulder into a running back, which set off some light-hearted chippiness between the offense and the defense.
He’s also been seen chatting up some of the younger prospects.
"First and foremost, you model yourself and do the same things they’re supposed to do,” Breeland said. “They'll pick up on the things that they need to put into their game. I don't feel like it's pressure. We just do what we do, and it's going to help them out."
On the flip side, even for an eight-year vet like Breeland, there’s still a giddiness getting to play with Peterson. The reverence for the 11-year pro is not limited to wide-eyed rookies.
“He's an eight-time Pro Bowler, man,” Breeland said. “Everybody looks up to Patrick Peterson growing up. He did things that a lot of corners wouldn't do. It's my first time really getting to play alongside him. I've been a fan of what he did at LSU as well as the Cardinals. It's just exciting to get out there and be on the field with him.”
Vikings fans could become very fond of their alliterative cornerbacks this season if P.P. and B.B. both work out.
Zimmer doesn’t seem overly concerned that the Vikings have assembled a group of cornerback mercenaries. Just as Minnesota experienced after 2019, their entire starting unit could again depart in free agency, leading to another secondary rebuild.
But a tough season in 2021 could put Zimmer on the hot seat, and he’s not about to let a 2020 repeat jeopardize the future.
The Vikings have the most experienced cornerback group Zimmer has ever enjoyed. Now it needs to translate into results.
“Proof is in the pudding,” Zimmer said. “We've got to go out there and cover.”
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