Since Mackensie Alexander was in high school, he'd always loved the stage on which the cornerback position put him: split wide from the defensive formation, away from the din of clashing bodies, locked in a balletic duel with an opponent's best receiver.
What the Vikings had in mind when they took the cornerback in the second round of the 2016 draft, though, was not the role he'd always cherished.
With Captain Munnerlyn set to hit free agency in a year, the Vikings wanted Alexander to master the nickel spot: stationed near the middle of the defensive formation, opposite a receiver who could go any which way, tasked with memorizing run fits and zone coverage rules. He did not want to sit and learn. And he did not want to be a nickel corner.
"It was a different role for me, and I didn't want to take the role," Alexander said. "I didn't appreciate it. I didn't want to play it. I didn't want nothing to do with it."
After a year in the league — and some hard conversations with Vikings coaches — Alexander says he has a new outlook. And if the Vikings stick with their initial plan to play the second-year corner in the nickel, he'll still have plenty of attention coming his way at what's become one of the most important spots in an NFL defense.
According to ESPN Stats and Information, the use of a nickel corner has been on the rise for the better part of the past decade, as the frequency of teams using three or more receivers went from 50.6 percent of snaps in 2007 to 64.8 percent last year.
Munnerlyn was on the field for 636 of the Vikings' 1,035 defensive snaps a year ago, and was in the slot for 567 of them, according to Pro Football Focus. The Vikings will begin their season against two teams, the Saints and the Steelers, that use plenty of multiple-receiver sets.
The Vikings' trade for Tramaine Brock gave them some insurance at the nickel, if not an alternative to Alexander. But if the 23-year-old is on the field against Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger and the other veterans he'll face early this year, he knows he'll be tested.