How Patient Should The Vikings Be With Fabian Moreau?
Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images
With 56 seconds left in the second quarter and the Arizona Cardinals’ offense at the midfield stripe, Kyler Murray takes his first read. It’s rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., running a crossing route against Stephon Gilmore in man coverage. Crossing routes are man-beaters, and Harrison Jr. is quicker than the 34-year-old veteran corner. But Murray can step up into the pocket to deliver the pass, Blake Cashman and Jonathan Greenard get enough pressure on Kyler for him to flush out of the pocket, thereby throwing an incomplete pass to Emari Demercado.
But while Brian Flores’ defense was able to force a 2nd & Long, Gilmore limped off the field grabbing at his left hamstring. Uh oh.
Here's the play where #Vikings CB Stephon Gilmore suffered that hamstring injury. The veteran cornerback ran stride for stride with rookie wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. on a crossing route, but Gilmore pulled his hammy right as he hit top speed. pic.twitter.com/QxUFrSuv0k
— 𝙩𝙮𝙡𝙚𝙧 (@TylerTalksBall) December 6, 2024
The Vikings were suddenly without their best cornerback for the rest of the game, and that will also be the case for this week’s matchup versus Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons. Gilmore has officially been ruled out for Sunday.
Journeyman cornerback Fabian Moreau was the next man up in Gilmore’s absence in the second half against the Cardinals, and he’s expected to receive most of the snaps against the Falcons. However, Kevin O’Connell also noted that undrafted rookie cornerback Dwight McGlothern could see his opportunities increase as the de-facto CB4 behind Byron Murphy, Shaq Griffin, and Moreau. “I think his opportunities are coming,” O’Connell said of McGlothern. “It could be this week. If he gets his opportunity, we know he’s gonna be ready.” So how much leash should the Vikings give to Moreau?
Tyler Forness of SKOR North argued that Moreau was pretty solid outside of committing two penalties, but respectfully, I beg to differ. The Cardinals targeted Moreau five times, and he allowed two completions for 31 yards, one of which resulted in a 16-yard touchdown pass to Harrison. I have no idea why Flores treated Moreau like Gilmore, leaving him out on an island for the entire second half, but it resulted in Moreau finishing the game with a 39.3 Pro Football Focus coverage grade.
Kyler Murray to Marvin Harrison Jr. Touchdown pic.twitter.com/nIgDU7UUw5
— Highlight Vault (@HighlightVault) December 1, 2024
His two back-breaking pass interference penalties are also hard for me to dismiss, especially given his reputation as someone who draws a lot of flags. Lance Zierlein noted in Moreau’s scouting report that he “has been tagged with an excessive amount of pass interferences and defensive holding penalties in college.” It hasn’t been much better in the NFL. He’s been flagged for 27 holding or pass interference penalties on 356 targets since 2018. Sunday didn’t suggest that trend was going away.
Vikings DB Fabian Moreau and HC Kevin O'Connell react to the defensive PI. pic.twitter.com/6tbFNMfD3y
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 1, 2024
Moreau does have some redeeming qualities. The first and most important is that he has experience playing in Flores’ defense. That’s not to suggest Moreau is guaranteed to play well this week, but it does mean that the coaches likely have more faith in him executing his assignments compared to an undrafted 22-year-old. Moreau also tested fairly well at the 2017 NFL Combine, and while his athleticism probably isn’t the same as it was eight seasons ago, Moreau should still have enough gas left in the tank to keep up with younger players.
Alternatively, the Vikings could split snaps evenly between Moreau and McGlothern this week against the Falcons. McGlothern signed a three-year, $2.84 million contract as an undrafted free agent this offseason and received a $30,000 signing bonus. That’s not as big of a financial investment as they made in, say, Gabriel Murphy (who got a $245,000 signing bonus), but it suggests the Vikings thought highly of him.
And while he was undrafted, McGlothern offers a lot of upside. The former Arkansas Razorback was one of the most productive cornerbacks in college, finishing his 2023 season with a 91.3 overall Pro Football Focus grade, thus becoming the highest-graded corner in the FBS, all while playing against SEC opponents. McGlothern was once projected to go in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but multiple team sources cited “personality issues” as the culprit for a lack of interest.
Dwight McGlothern was a really, really good player for the Hogs. Still surprised he went undrafted.
Here he is with an interception and 90-yard return for the Vikings. #ProHogs pic.twitter.com/D8QdGJh4oP
— Andrew Hutchinson (@NWAHutch) August 17, 2024
McGlothern ended up being a training camp and preseason standout, holding his own in coverage against Vikings starters, and finishing the preseason with a 88.4 overall Pro Football Focus Grade. McGlothern’s biggest highlight-reel play was when he picked off a pass thrown by former Pro Bowl QB (no, really) Tyler Huntley for a 90-yard return. If McGlothern can build on his preseason performance, perhaps he could challenge Moreau for that fourth cornerback spot. The Vikings should have a vested interest in giving McGlothern more snaps, because he’ll offer more long-term value than Moreau.
However, there is still a level of risk the Vikings would be taking by giving McGlothern an increased workload against a quarterback in Kirk Cousins who is intimately familiar with Brian Flores’ scheme and is capable of carving up Minnesota’s injured secondary. McGlothern’s inexperience could lead to growing pains, and this may not be the best week to throw a young guy out into the fire. McGlothern also has less athletic upside than Moreau, and is better suited in zone coverage than man coverage.
Moreau and McGlothern couldn’t be any more different. Moreau is a veteran corner who excels in man coverage, but is prone to committing pass interference and defensive holding penalties. Meanwhile, McGlothern is a rookie who excels in zone coverage, but with average-ish athleticism that could be exploited if left on an island. That being said, the Vikings are forced to emphasize the next-man-up mentality this week against Cousins and the Falcons, which means one of these two guys is gonna have to step up to the challenge this week.
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