The Minnesota Vikings made a splash move on Friday afternoon when they sent cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys for cornerback Nahshon Wright.
The idea of trading Booth has been circulating around the media for the last few months, including myself. I mentioned it on Thursday's episode of The Real Forno Show .
Initially, my thoughts were focused on the trade being with the Buffalo Bills and Kaiir Elam who has yet to take a step forward after being a first-round pick in 2022. THe move itself is one of minor desperation. Both Booth and Wright were on the verge of being cut, giving each player the chance to make a new roster with a fresh start.
What are the Vikings getting in Wright? He's an interesting player.
Nahshon Wright is historically tall
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has shown a propensity to like players who are tall and long. Wright is historically tall at 6-4 1/4" and he pairs that with 32 7/8" arms. That kind of size and length is really intriguing in both press coverage and zone defense.
Flores loves to have players with size and length, which is why he brought in Joejuan Williams and Khyree Jackson over the last two offseasons.
Athleticism is not Nahshon Wright's forte
When you think about the cornerback position, athleticism is usually a priority. You need to be able to flip your hips and move with the receiver at the stem of the route. Unfortunately, that isn't what Wright is good at.
In fact, he's a very poor athlete, especially in short area quickness.
Nahshon Wright is known most for being overdrafted
Each year, Arif Hasan puts together the consensus board. He's done so for multiple outlets, and this year's was hosted by his Substack Wide Left . When each player gets selected, it's good to go back and look at where they ranked.
For Wright, it wasn't good. He was selected at 99th overall by the Cowboys and was overdrafted by more than 200 spots.
Nahshon Wright has played limited defensive snaps
In three seasons, the expectation is that you become at least a rotational player on defense. Third round picks should be either starters or solid rotational players by the time their rookie contracts end. That hasn't been the case for Wright.
In his three seasons with the Cowboys, Wright has played in 32 games for the Cowboys with three starts on defense. Despite that, he hasn't been able to stick. Wright has only played 272 defensive snaps over his career. His best season came in 2022 with 128 defensive snaps. He only played in five games with all of those coming in his final season.
Mekhi Blackmon and Nahshon Wright are related
Every once in a while, family gets an opportunity to play together. That is what Wright is getting in Minnesota. Well, sort of.
He and current Vikings cornerback Mekhi Blackmon are cousins. Unfortunately, Blackmon is out for the season with a torn ACL. If Wright has a career renaissance, they might get a chance to play together in the 2025 season.
Related: Answering burning Minnesota Vikings questions: From Sam Darnold to T.J. Hockenson and Christian Darrisaw
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