Newest Vikings addition will have to step up in a major way after another loss to the team's secondary

During the Minnesota Vikings first practice session of training camp, the team's secondary suffered another blow after second-year cornerback Mekhi Blackmon went down and was diagnosed with a torn ACL.

According to reporters in attendance, Blackmon suffered the injury during the 7-on-7 drills, limped off the field and laid on the ground for over five minutes before heading back to the locker room.

Earlier this month, rookie cornerback Khyree Jackson was tragically killed in a car accident that the team has been grieving over leading up to the start of camp. Both players were expected to be in contention for the starting nickel corner position in Brian Flores' system and the team had high hopes for both players.

Now, the team will be assessing the room to determine who could take over that role in the secondary as a starter alongside outside cornerbacks Byron Murphy Jr. and free agent addition Shaquill Griffin.

Outside of Murphy and Griffin, the Vikings cornerback room is filled with a lot of promising young players that lack true experience. Ahead of camp, the Vikings added veteran Duke Shelley back to the room, who has lined up some in the nickel throughout his five year career and has some familiarity with the coaching staff.

"Great to have Duke back in our cornerback and DB room," head coach Kevin O'Connell said on Wednesday. "A guy that had a huge impact in our locker room when he was here in 2022. Just seeing the excitement on the guys when Duke was back on the grass and in the locker room with them, I know everybody was excited to get Duke back and really join that competition there."

Even though he's lined up in the slot in the past, Shelley hasn't primarily played in the nickel position since the 2021 season with the Chicago Bears. That season, Shelley allowed 423 yards in coverage but zero touchdowns in 10 games.

Shelley will definitely now be in contention for that role in camp with some of the other guys listed on the roster. The players in the room that will really need to step up to compete with Shelley include Akayleb Evans, A.J. Green III, Andrew Booth Jr., and rookie Dwight McGlothern. Evans, Green, and Booth each might be too big to play in the slot and don't really have much experience lining up there in the past.

Following Blackmon's injury, this seems like Shelley's job to lose. The other option for the Vikings would be to move Murphy to nickel, where he lined up for 214 snaps during the 2023 season , and have Evans or Booth line up outside, although both players have looked disappointing at times in the secondary. We'll see which players are able to step up and secure the role over the next few weeks of camp.

Related: Vikings Kevin O'Connell breaks down the players in contention for a major offensive role heading into training camp