Vikings 90-man roster player profile: CB C.J. Coldon Jr.
Welcome to the beginning of our 2023 season preview content!
Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at each player on the roster in-depth with backgrounds and how they currently project forward on the Minnesota Vikings roster.
What is the best-case scenario? What is the worst-case scenario? What should we expect from them during the preseason and beyond? We will break all of that down here.
As a staff, all of us at Vikings Wire ranked the entire 90-man roster 1-90 and will be releasing player profiles in reverse order.
Background
Name: C.J. Coldon Jr.
Rank: 81
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 180 lbs
Experience: Rookie
College: Oklahoma
Stats (At Wyoming & Oklahoma): 157 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 6 interceptions, 22 passes defended, 2 fumble recoveries, 1 touchdown
Votes:
Tyler Forness: 81
Kevin Fielder: 80
Judd Zulgad: 80
Saivion Mixson: 81
Average: 80.50
Best case scenario
With the question marks at the back end of the roster at cornerback, there is potential for a player like Coldon to make an impact and win a job. A tall and physical player, he will have to rely on his technique and size over his athleticism, which admittedly isn’t great with a Relative Athletic Score of only 3.92. With Brian Flores’ defense prioritizing man coverage skills and the ability
Worst case scenario
His athletic profile isn’t good enough for both the 53-man roster and the practice squad. A 29th percentile 40-yard dash at 4.63 seconds is not a great time and something that hindered a player of his similar size Cameron Dantzler Sr. He does have over 80th percentile jumps and 62.6th percentile 10-yard split at 1.58 seconds do give some hope that he can be good enough, but long speed is important for a cornerback.
CJ Coldon is a CB prospect in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 3.92 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1352 out of 2222 CB from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/TIH3VV1dki #Vikings pic.twitter.com/oMj2Tyz3cf
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 30, 2023
What to expect in 2023
Expect Coldon to compete for a spot at the back end of the roster with guys like Tay Gowan, but don’t expect him to make the roster. I would project two or more cornerbacks to be on the practice squad and Coldon feels like the perfect player for that. Based on the cornerbacks that Brian Flores has brought it, there seems to be a type and Coldon fits that.
Previous player profiles
90-Garett Maag
89-Jack Podlesny
88-Zach Ojile
87-NaJee Thompson
86-Thayer Thomas
85-Sam Schluter
84-Jaelyn Williams
83-Jacky Chen
82-Cephus Johnson III
