Rookie cornerbacks — including Vikings' Akayleb Evans — make big impact in NFL

Thirty-seven cornerbacks were selected in this year's NFL draft. All but one of the top 25 taken has played in at least one game on defense.

The odd man out so far: Vikings second-round pick Andrew Booth Jr.

This, however, is of no ill consequence to the 7-1, red-hot Purple because this, folks, is becoming a charmed season for the ages.

The kind of season when the trade deadline arrives and the Packers trade for no one, the Bears trade away everyone and the Lions trade to Minnesota a tight end who's exactly what Kirk Cousins needs to reach the next level.

The kind of season when a trip to mighty Buffalo brings news that Josh Allen might have a bum elbow from a bad loss, setting up a potential showdown between the sideline architect of the Vikings' Charmed Present (Kevin O'Connell) vs. the on-field maestro of the Vikings' most recent Charmed Past (Case Keenum, '17).

Booth being injured early and not up to speed now means little because the current Vikings braintrust must share former coach Mike Zimmer's philosophy on cornerbacks. Asked one time how many corners were enough to satisfy him, Zim smiled and semi-jokingly said, "Just one more."

Akayleb Evans, a rookie fourth-round pick out of Missouri, is this year's surprising payoff for that "just one more" mentality. When starter Cam Dantzler went down with an ankle injury during Sunday's win at Washington, the Vikings turned to Evans instead of a healthy Booth. The 6-2, 198-pounder responded like a first-rounder, notching a key fourth-down pass defense and two excellent tackles for loss while playing 70% of the defensive snaps (45).

Amen. Especially this year.

More corners were drafted than any other position this year. And, Booth's slow start aside, the '22 rookie class certainly is not disappointing. From No. 3 overall pick Derek Stingley, who has played nearly every snap for the Texans, to 243^rd overall pick Jaylen Watson, a seventh-rounder with five starts and a 99-yard pick-six for the Chiefs, rookie corners are producing as well as ever before.

Evans said there was a special closeness and swagger among the rookie corners at this year's combine. And, in some cases, leading up to the combine.

"During the pre-draft process when I was training back in Texas, [No. 4 overall pick] Sauce [Gardner] was actually at the same facility as me," Evans said. "I would talk mess to everybody. That's how I get along with people. I was talking mess to him, Cordale [Flott], who's with the Giants, Derek Stingley. We were talking mess about when we'd get to the NFL."

Evans knew he belonged.

Buffalo has two rookie corners — 23^rd overall pick Kaiir Elam and sixth-rounder Christian Benford — who have combined for nine starts. Six of them by Elam who has two interceptions.

New England fourth-rounder Jack Jones has two interceptions. Seattle fourth-rounder Coby Bryant has a league-high four forced fumbles and isn't even the best rookie corner on his team. Seahawks fifth-rounder Tariq Woolen has four interceptions, two fumble recoveries and eight passes defensed in nine starts.

Heck, the impact of this year's rookie class of corners doesn't even end with the drafted guys. Kader Kohou, an undrafted free agent from Division II Texas A&M-Commerce, has started five games for the Dolphins. He had eight tackles in the win over the Bears on Sunday.

"We see it week in and week out," O'Connell said. "A [rookie] in the secondary of the teams we play that we tell our guys, 'Hey, this guy's got a real skill set to impact the game.'"