Out of Nowhere Viking is Turning Heads Early

Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; A detailed view of Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson's (18) helmet before the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

For some, undrafted corner Zemaiah Vaughn is an out of nowhere Viking, a player whom casual fans aren’t particularly familiar with going into 2025. Maybe that should change.

Recently, Vikings general manager did a sitdown interview with KFAN’s Paul Allen. Along the way, Adofo-Mensah talked about wanting to get down to practice to see if the on-field performance matched what he was seeing on film. The GM’s example for a player who has been showing up on film with impressive play is Mr. Vaughn.

Out of Nowhere Viking is Impressing the GM

Alec Lewis of The Athletic was among those to observe some good things from the young corner, writing in June, “Not going to make too much out of OTAs/minicamp, but one guy who keeps flashing to me is Utah undrafted corner Zemaiah Vaughn. Just always around the ball, never seems out of place.”

So, too, did Craig Peters make note of an excellent play from the young defender: “Beyond intended pass catchers, there also were back-to-back interceptions recorded. The first was by undrafted rookie Zemaiah Vaughn, which prompted O’Connell to walk over and congratulate him.”

Bring things up to the present moment.

Last week, Adofo-Mensah spent twenty minutes chatting with Allen. In one moment, the GM uplifted the young corner as someone who was impressive: “Maybe something that I saw on film, that I had a question about that, ‘hey, man, this guy, man he seems like he’s…’ — Zemaiah Vaughn is a perfect example, right? Somebody who I think, seems like just from a route anticipation kind of understanding where guys are trying to attack him, feels better than it was already on college film.”

Shortly thereafter, Adofo-Mensah continues thinking aloud, describing how he consulted with the coaches while praising the staff for how they’re building up the young corner.

Folks, pay attention when respected writers like Alec Lewis and Craig Peters make observations. Pay extra special attention when the general manager brings a player up unprompted. Adofo-Mensah is, after all, one of the team’s most influential voices. Plus, he’s the one who ultimately signed off on bringing Vaughn into the Twin Cities in the first place.

At 6’3″, Zemaiah Vaughn is the team’s tallest corner. No, that basic fact isn’t going to be enough to get him onto the team, but his length matters. The NFL is a matchup league. Proving capable of being able to dance with some of the league’s long-and-strong receivers will mean that Mr. Vaughn will have a long career.

Of course, there’s a long way to go before he proves capable of doing so, but the early signs are positive.

The young corner is operating on a three-year agreement sitting at a total of $2,980,000. The key detail is simply that he snagged $249,000 guaranteed. It’s a beefy payday for an undrafted player, suggesting Minnesota was serious about bringing him in to compete for one of the vacant corner spots.

Zemaiah Vaughn played in twelve games last season at Utah. He earned 40 tackles, 2 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception (brought back for a score), and 5 passes defended. Continuing to shine will mean snagging the CB5 or CB6 job with the Vikings as he builds toward replicating some of those numbers as a pro.

The corner is 23.

Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference CFB and Over the Cap helped with this piece.

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