Vikings Co-DC Adam Zimmer talks Cameron Dantzler: ‘We’re going to need him’
Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler was tabbed by some to become a breakout performer this year.
That’s what a promising rookie season will do. Dantzler, who struggled with consistency and durability early in 2020, finished strong. He ended this past season with four passes defended and two picks, earning a PFF overall grade of 70.5.
But Dantzler did not win a starting position for 2021, at least for now. The Vikings second-year corner lost out to Bashaud Breeland, but Breeland has struggled as of late.
Vikings co-defensive coordinator Adam Zimmer spoke to reporters about Dantzler recently:
“He’s honed in,” Adam Zimmer said of Dantzler. “He made a nice play over there to keep us in the game, at the end of the game when he got to go in for [Breeland]. I think he is starting to embrace his role right now. He knows at any moment we’re going to need him, just like in the game the other day.”
Dantzler was a inactive for the Week 1 game against the Bengals, despite not being ruled out on the injury report. That can be a hard thing for any player to deal with, but Dantzler did respond in Week 2.
“I think he’s going through what any young player goes through. When you don’t play one time, you might lose some confidence. You know, he came in the game, played confident, made some plays,” Adam Zimmer said of Dantzler. “And I expect him to continue to do that for us.”
It remains to be seen which cornerback will start for the Vikings opposite Patrick Peterson going forward: Dantzler or Breeland. But if Dantzler keeps playing like he does and Breeland keeps struggling, that decision may get easier.
