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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Rookie cornerback Trae Waynes had his best game of the preseason on Saturday night, coach Mike Zimmer said, and the first-round pick continues to make progress after a rough indoctrination into the NFL early this preseason. Waynes would have been beat for a big play had Terrance Williams been able to stay in bounds while hauling in a deep pass, but only wound up allowing two completions for 10 yards in the four passes thrown his way, according to Pro Football Focus. "He was in position the entire night," Zimmer said. "His technique was much better this last time. There were some things we had to talk about on the sideline, but for the most part, I thought this was by far his best performance." As we discussed last week, the Vikings aren't in any hurry to put Waynes on the field; defensive coordinator George Edwards said last week the Vikings are "aiming for" him to be ready to start Week 1, but the team isn't going to force Waynes into that role if he's not ready. Zimmer said on Monday that Edwards' comments were misinterpreted by the larger audience, and while there's little doubt the Vikings hope Waynes progresses to the point he could start on Sept. 14 against San Francisco, there's no deadline to get him in the lineup. His development, though, makes him a more viable option than it seemed he'd be a few weeks earlier. He'll likely start the year as the Vikings' fourth corner, meaning he'd be the first one off the bench if anything were to happen to Xavier Rhodes or Terence Newman in the base defense or Captain Munnerlyn in the slot. With Josh Robinson seemingly headed for the physically unable to perform list at the beginning of the season, the Vikings will need to have Waynes ready to play in some capacity, and it sounded from Zimmer's comments on Monday like the rookie is heading in that direction.
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