The Minnesota Vikings Worked out Defensive Back Evan Holm who was a CFL West Division All-Star at defensive halfback this past season which was his first full CFL season. Holm is a defensive back with good positioning and awareness with great closing speed. Holm potentially has the opportunity to play for his hometown team given the fact he is from Edina, Minnesota.
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Evan Holm started every game this past season for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers playing at halfback. Over 18 regular season games he had the 2nd most tackles on the team at 64, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, and 12 passes defended which was tied for first among defensive backs.
Over Winnipeg’s 2 playoff games, Holm had 9 tackles and 2 interceptions. He had a big 4th quarter in the Western Final breaking up a pass late in the 4th quarter targeting star receiver Dominique Rhymes. He broke up another pass in the final minute and made an interception on BC’s final play.
In the Grey Cup made 7 tackles, defended a pass, and made a run stop. He also did a great job maintaining his position on a deep ball targeting Austin Mack to make an interception early in the 4th quarter on a pass targeting Austin Mack.
2023 was Holm’s first full CFL season after playing 9 games last year as a rookie contributing 21 tackles and an interception.
Holm played his collegiate ball at North Dakota where he appeared in 49 games with 34 starts contributing 148 total tackles (101 solo, 47 assisted), 6 interceptions, 33 passes defended, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. Following his final collegiate season Sports Illustrated had him ranked 35th among inside cornerback prospects.
The Vikings are already in a good position where their secondary is concerned. Currently, they only have 1 player over the age of 25, Harrison Smith, listed on their depth chart among their cornerbacks and safeties. Additionally, they only have 1 player not under contract amongst this group, Theo Jackson. The only contract set to expire following the 2024 season among these players is Camryn Bynym.
In addition to appearing fairly future-proof due to the age and duration of the contracts, the Vikings are currently the 8th highest-graded NFL team in their pass coverage grade by Pro Football Focus. At cornerback, both of the current starters are ranked outside of the top 50 in PFF’s overall defensive grades among cornerbacks who have played more than 20% of the snaps. Akayleb Evans is placed at 56th on this list and Byron Murphy Jr. is at 90 in this metric. Mekhi Blackmon is ranked 17th on this list for the Vikings.
While the Vikings may not be in as great of a need for an upgrade at cornerback as their division leader the Detroit Lions, Evan Holm is a player with an unknown ceiling who could provide valuable depth or possibly upgrade the team.
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Continue Reading:
Grey Cup Report MTL 28-24 WPG
CFL Eastern Final Report MTL 38-17 TOR
CFL Western Final Report WPG 24-13 BC
CFL Eastern Semi-Final Report MTL 27-12 HAM
CFL Western Semi-Final Report BC 41-30 CGY
