Minnesota Vikings Free Agency: Captain Munnerlyn To Visit With Vikings

With a successful two days of free agency almost under their belts, the Minnesota Vikings are on the verge of getting greedy.

And I'm cool with that.

On the heels of the Linval Joseph signing and the report of Henry Melton visiting tomorrow, it's also been reported that free agent CB Oh Captain My Captain Munnerlyn (c'mon, it was on a tee, what did you expect?) will also be visiting the Vikings. But he'll beat Melton to the Twin Cities:

Captain Munnerlyn will visit the Vikings tonight and tomorrow, according to a NFL source.

— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingESPN) March 12, 2014

This is yet another surprising yet impressive development.  And I'm not usually the one to say 'I told you so', because this SO RARELY HAPPENS FOR ME, because I'm as good at the prediction game as Piers Morgan is at CNN talk shows.

BOOOOOOM BABY!

Anyhoo, when I suggested that even if the Vikings were to sign Melton, they should still have enough cap money left to get a good CB in free agency, some folks thought I was wr-wr-wro-incorrect:

@purplebuckeye now if you are talking about signing low range CB after signing a guy like melton, then maybe...but not munnerlyn types

— Vikings Fan Page (@Kevin_VFP) March 12, 2014

Ahem.  Kevin from Vikings Fan Page is buying beer if Munnerlyn signs.  Just sayin'.

Munnerlyn is coming off one of his best seasons, is only 25, and one of his strengths is working from the slot position, an area that could graciously be called a tire fire dropped on top of a natural disaster wrapped around the Polar Vortex for the Vikings in 2013.  Don't let Munnerlyn's relatively low number of career interceptions (five) fool you: he's a solid tackler, very good in coverage, and hey, if that doesn't sway you, consider:

He has five more career interceptions than Chris Cook.  Make with that information what you will.

And if you need more validation, here's the Mothership talking about the first lieutenant, second award, during their NFC South Free Agency preview:

Munnerlyn turned down a three-year deal from Carolina last season. After not receiving much interest in a flooded cornerback market, he opted to sign a one-year deal with the Panthers and take his chances. He started all 16 games, recording three sacks, 12 passes defended and intercepting two passes. He continued to be a playmaker with the ball in his hands, scoring two defensive touchdowns. The cornerback market is once again flooded, but at 25 and coming off a very strong season, Munnerlyn should receive significantly more interest this time around.

Here's the deal: Munnerlyn and Xavier Rhodes would be your starting corners, but Munnerlyn moves inside in the nickel, and Josh Robinson or Shawn Prater moves outside.  This is a substantially better secondary, simply because Robinson has been moved out of his weakest position, ALL THE TIME, and let's be honest--he's not bad on the outside.  If the Vikings can swing a deal, I am 100% on board with it.

This has already been a successful free agency for the Vikings, even if they don't sign any other player.  But if they sign Melton and Munnerlyn?

I think it would be tough to find a better free agency class for the Vikings than the class of 2014.