Cameron Dantzler

Cameron Dantzler (born September 3, 1998) is an American football cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Mississippi State.

Cameron Dantzler
No. 27 – Minnesota Vikings
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1998-09-03) September 3, 1998
Hammond, Louisiana
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:188 lb (85 kg)
Career information
High school:Saint Thomas Aquinas
(Hammond, Louisiana)
College:Mississippi State
NFL Draft:2020 / Round: 3 / Pick: 89
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 15, 2020
Total tackles:44
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:4
Interceptions:2
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Dantzler attended Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Hammond, Louisiana. He played cornerback and quarterback in high school. As a senior, he passed for 1,381 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 1,901 yards and 26 touchdowns. He committed to Mississippi State University to play college football.[1][2]

College career

Dantzler redshirted his true freshman season at Mississippi State. He played in all 13 of the Bulldogs' games as a redshirt freshman, finishing the season with 25 tackles (two for loss) with four passes defended and an interception, which came in the 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl when he picked off Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson.[3][4] Dantzler entered his redshirt sophomore season as a starter, finishing the season with 43 tackles (two for loss), a sack, two interceptions and a team-leading 11 passes defended and was named second team All-SEC by the Associated Press.[5][6] Additionally, Dantzler was one of only four cornerbacks in the conference not to surrender a touchdown pass and had a 41.1 passer rating allowed according to Pro Football Focus.[7]

Dantzler entered his redshirt junior season on the watchlists for the Bednarik, Nagurski and Jim Thorpe Awards and was named a preseason All-American by Phil Steele.[8][9] After a 2019 season where he had 2 interceptions and 10 passes defend, Dantzler decided to forgo his last year of eligibility and declared for the 2020 NFL Draft.[10]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 2 1⁄4 in
(1.89 m)		 188 lb
(85 kg)		 30 5⁄8 in
(0.78 m)		 9 in
(0.23 m)		 4.64 s 34.5 in
(0.88 m)
All values from NFL Combine[11]

The Minnesota Vikings selected Dantzler in the third round (89th overall) of the 2020 NFL Draft. He was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on October 28, 2020,[12] and activated three days later.[13]

2020 season

Heading into his first training camp, Cameron Dantzler was projected to be a starting cornerback opposite Mike Hughes. He faced competition from fellow rookie Jeff Gladney for his starting job. At the end of training camp, head coach Mike Zimmer named Dantzler a starting cornerback opposite Hughes.

Dantzler made his first career start and NFL debut in the Vikings’ season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers. He recorded four tackles in the 34-43 loss. Dantzler missed Weeks 2 and 3 with a rib injury before returning as a starter in Week 4 against the Houston Texans, recording four tackles in the 31-23 win. Dantzler started in the Vikings’ Week 5 and Week 6 games against the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons, but was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list after coming into close contact with a teammate who tested positive for the virus. He missed Week 7 before returning in the Vikings’ Week 8 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Dantzler started the game and recorded 2 solo tackles before being taken out of the game with a serious neck injury. However, he was able to return in time for the Vikings’ Week 11 contest against the Dallas Cowboys. In the Vikings’ Week 13 contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dantzler recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Mike Glennon and forced a fumble on Chris Conley which he also recovered during the 27–24 overtime win. Dantzler finished his rookie season appearing in 11 games (10 starts) and recording 2 interceptions, 46 combined tackles, four passes defended, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery. [14]

References
  1. 3-star Louisiana athlete commits to Mississippi State
  2. Mississippi State felt like 'home' for St. Thomas Aquinas ATH Cameron Dantzler
  3. Faulk, Robbie (August 19, 2018). ""Bigger, Stronger, Faster" Dantzler Set for Sophomore Season". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  4. "No. 23 Mississippi State beats Louisville in TaxSlayer Bowl". The Clarion-Ledger. December 30, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  5. "Development key in Dantzler's success". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. September 5, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  6. "No. 1 Alabama has 5 players first-team AP All-SEC selections". APNews.com. December 3, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  7. Holder, Jim (July 15, 2019). "Dantzler, Thompson picked for Defensive Player of the Year list". WTVA.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  8. Murray, David (August 7, 2019). "Dantzler Dialing-In for an Award-Winning Season". 247Sports.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  9. Horka, Tyler (July 2, 2019). "This Mississippi State football player could be an All-American". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  10. Horka, Tyler (December 6, 2019). "Mississippi State cornerback Cameron Dantzler to declare for NFL Draft, skip bowl game". clarionledger.com. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  11. "Cameron Dantzler Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  12. Goessling, Ben (October 28, 2020). "Vikings place Cameron Dantzler on COVID-19 reserve list". StarTribune.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  13. "Vikings' Cameron Dantzler: Back from COVID-19 list". CBSSports.com. October 31, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  14. "Jacksonville Jaguars at Minnesota Vikings - December 6th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
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