Minnesota Vikings rookie Mekhi Blackmon is very much a fresh face in the NFL, but he’s already been thrown into the deep end with a trip to the U.K. to help promote the team brand.

The Minnesota Vikings are a team who are very much looking upwards rather than down after the 2022 NFL season. With a 7-win season in 2020 and an 8-win year in 2021, the team decided to go with a change of pace and appointed head coach Kevin O’Connell to lead the way, and he certainly hit the ground running

The Vikings were able to finish as the #2 seed in the NFC, and even though they were knocked out in the divisional round by the New York Giants, they have laid the foundation for a good, solid team that should be feeling confident about challenging for the NFC North this year.

With the foundations laid, the NFL Draft allowed them to add some more pieces into the mix, one of which was Mehki Blackmon, a 3rd round cornerback out of USC, who could barely get his pads on during preseason before he was being whisked away with a number of other Vikings players to spend some time in the U.K. to help promote the team.

We sat down with Blackmon last week to discuss a number of topics, including his adjustment to the NFL, missing out on playing Aaron Rodgers, and his thoughts on the NFL & the sport of American Football within the U.K. itself:

GiveMeSport: So how have you enjoyed the U.K. and London in general? I've seen on social media you've been getting about a little bit the past couple of days.

Mekhi Blackmon: They've had our list real active. So I would say it's real good kind of getting to spend a lot of time with people out here, I'm kind of feeling the vibe out more and more for like, every morning I wake up, I get a little bit more comfortable stepping out of the hotel room. So I will say it’s been real eye-opening for us.

GMS: Obviously you're very new in the NFL, how have you found your first few months? Obviously, you’re a rookie, there’s a big adjustment coming out of college, how have you found the whole process?

MB: I would say it's been real smooth, kind of being a sponge to learn more and more from the guys who have been there and done it. So I will say they've helped a lot, the guys on the team are really opening and really welcoming. So I would say that helps me a lot so far. But I can't wait to get into camp and get back around those guys to learn more and more.

GMS: How's it felt like coming into a team that's already sort of on the up under coach Kevin O'Connell and moving in the right direction, rather than having to start right at the bottom?

MB: I will say it's pressure, but it's a lot of good pressure. You’d rather be on this side than the other side where you have to kind of get back on track. So just coming into a team that has had success in the past couple of years is real good.

GMS: Now you were drafted in and around the time that Aaron Rogers was traded away out to the division. When you found out that you were going to the Vikings, when did it hit you that you weren't going to be facing off against one of the all-time greats? Was it a case of saying ‘Oh, I've missed my chance to be able to get interceptions off him’, or was it a case of ‘I'm glad I don't have to face him twice a season’.

MB: It's kind of more of the first type, that ‘Dang, I'm not going to be able to kind of make history off of him’. But they have Jordan love now, and I feel like they're going to they're going to continue to grow. So I would still look forward to playing them, Detroit and then Chicago is also a young team. So we look to make our mark in other places, not just Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay.

GMS: So what is it like having to prepare for three different styles of quarterbacks? Jordan Love, we still don't know exactly what's going on. Jared Goff has his own unique skill set. Justin Fields has whatever he has, but he's still growing, but he showed a little bit more. What’s it like as a defensive back having to prepare? To say ‘right, I've got to have all different skill sets of my own to be able to take down these guys.

MB: I feel like, just coming from college and being in the Pac 12 you play Stanford, you play Utah, so those are more like your Jared Goff types. And then like you said, we don't really know how Jordan Love is going to be and then I played against quarterbacks similar to Justin Fields’ running ability and stuff like that every day. So I would say just kind of, luckily, I'm coming right out of college and was playing a lot of different types of quarterback.

GMS: So how exactly did you get involved in this Vikings trip over? When you heard they were coming to the U.K., did you stick your hand up? Or did they say ‘Right, we need someone, and it's going to be you’?

MB: Yeah, they came to me. I originally had a trip planned to Hawaii with my family around the same time frame and I didn't have a passport. So once they extended the offer and said that we wanted you to come over to the U.K., it was like a no-brainer for me. My family was a little upset that I canceled the trip on them, but they understood that they can always go to Hawaii, but a trip to the U.K. is something you can't deny. So I was scrambling around to get my passport and I'm happy I did because I'm really loving my time here now.

GMS: Have you been surprised at the level of interest in the Vikings and the NFL in general since you've been in love? Because I hear a lot of people that even though the international games have been going on for so many years now, there is still a thing of ‘Oh, I didn't know there was this level of interest in the NFL over here’. So has it taken you by surprise, how much interest there’s been, or was this what you were expecting?

MB: I didn't at all, just meeting with a few of the fans, you can tell how dedicated they were. A bunch of those guys are saying how they come to games in the States and how they stay up late to watch the games even if it's 3am in the morning, and then they still have to make it to work in the next few hours is real crazy to me. You know that there are fans all over, but you don't necessarily know what it takes to be as dedicated as they are.

I've been telling people all day, I kind of want to get back to the U.K. and play more and more games here, just so that they're not doing this sacrificing as far as staying up late and taking 10-hour flights to come see us play when we could kind of meet them in the middle and kind of do the same for them.

GMS: What are your thoughts on an international franchise? Because that's been something that's been muted for the past 10 years or so? Could you see a team in London playing permanently in the NFL?

MB: It all depends on how the league will structure it. There are 32 teams right now, so it all depends on how they're able to implement it. I feel like the only team that's similar to doing that right now is the Toronto Raptors in the NBA in Canada, but I would say they're kind of closer to us. So it all depends on how that will work out with the league and stuff, but I feel in the upcoming years I can see it happening.

GMS: I know you're obviously very new to the league and you've got an appreciation for the Vikings for taking that chance on you, but would you ever want to play for one in the future? Or would you are you one of these players who, and I’ve spoken to a few in the past, say ‘No, I only want to play stateside’?

MB: Surprisingly if my family was in the U.K. right now, I probably could stay, so I will say it really doesn't matter to me, like I said I like it here so far. Every day is like a movie, you never really see this side of the U.K. every day, so when you're actually living in it, it feels kind of surreal to you, but like I said I like it a lot.

GMS: And then just one final question just on the subject of long travel and everything that will be associated with a U.K. franchise. You came out of USC this past summer, and I'm curious on your thoughts about this. You got out at the perfect time, but what were your thoughts on USC and UCLA’s decision to join the Big 10 and again the travel that would have to be involved with that as well?

MB: I feel like it was a really smart decision on their part. Typically, the PAC 12 is looked down upon so just them being able to go and compete against, bigger teams and stuff like that, the Big 10 is a little more respected than the PAC 12 right now, so just hopefully they go out and they do their job and I know they will. Lincoln Riley and his offense is always explosive, the defense is also growing on the other side, so I look forward to them being in the Big 10 and doing all that.

Although the Minnesota Vikings will not be returning to play in London this October, the team will remain active in the U.K. throughout the season. To keep updated on everything follow them on Instagram and Twitter. All images from this article are courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings.