It might be hard to fathom, but there was a time Xavier Rhodes feared what would happen if he went up for an interception.

Yes, you read that correctly. Rhodes -- who signed a $70 million extension with the Minnesota Vikings in July, making him one of the league's highest-paid cornerbacks -- struggled with confidence. The dreadful scenario he imagined played out in his head like a recurring nightmare.

"I was always afraid that if I do catch the ball and then dropped it, the offensive player might end up catching it," Rhodes recalled of his early years in the NFL. "That's a confidence killer right there. You try to go for the pick and it ends up going through your hands and you knock it into the receiver's hands. That just kills everything."

Somewhere along the way during his five seasons in the league, Rhodes shook that fear and ascended the ranks to become one of the NFL's best shutdown corners.

But it wasn't long ago that Rhodes was a work in progress, going through the same growing pains as the player who lines up opposite him at left cornerback.

Drafted by the Vikings two years apart, Rhodes and Trae Waynes share a number of similarities with the paths their careers have taken. Both are former first-round picks: Rhodes was selected 25th overall in 2013 and Waynes 11th in 2015.

Both entered the league with high expectations. Neither recorded an interception until after their first regular season was in the books (Waynes picked off Seattle's Russell Wilson in a 2015 NFC wild-card game.).

It wasn't until Rhodes' third year that he really started to turn the corner. In his fourth season in 2016, he picked off five passes and was named a Pro Bowler.

As hard as it might be to believe, Pro Bowl corner Xavier Rhodes, right, was afraid of going for interceptions early in his career. Brace Hemmelgarn/USA TODAY Sports

Waynes was brought along slowly by the Vikings' coaching staff. And he has caught criticism for the speed of his development. Now, in his third season, the former Michigan State product is coming into his own as one of the top run-stopping corners in the league.

Given the trajectory of Rhodes' career, this comes as little surprise. It might even foreshadow what's in store for Waynes in the years to come.

"Each week, he's gotten better and better and better, and I think it's gaining the confidence, gaining the swagger," Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman said of Waynes. "People don't look back where Xavier was his rookie year and how he progressed. I think you're seeing that same track with Trae Waynes right now."

Jerry Gray had his work cut out for him upon Waynes' arrival in 2015.

It went beyond employing bump-and-run technique, as he had to teach the then-rookie cornerback to utilize his hands less in coverage. Waynes was slapped with nine penalties in two seasons as a starter for the Spartans, most of which stemmed from illegal contact with receivers.

All things considered, teaching new skills was the easiest part of the equation.

Pulling Waynes out of his shell took longer. It's something Gray still works at three years in.

"He was real shy, quiet, wouldn't say anything," the Vikings defensive backs coach said. "He reminds me of a cat who's always sneaking around, and if anything comes up, he's ready to pounce on it."

Gray came to Minnesota a year before Waynes' arrival, which was Rhodes' second season in the NFL. It was the first year Rhodes was a full-time starter; a season where he drew attention when teams limited their targets toward Terence Newman and started throwing the ball Rhodes' way.

There were bumps along the way to Rhodes' recording an interception and 18 pass deflections in 2014. Gray understood the frustrations that Rhodes was going through early on but was eager to show him the benefit of being targeted so often.

"I just kept telling him you have to keep working through it, because these are opportunities for you to keep growing," Gray said. "Then his next year, he got a lot of PBUs [passes broken up]; and then last year, he got the interceptions.

"I kind of went through the same thing. I got drafted by the Rams, LeRoy Irvin was All-Pro. I was a first-round pick. Guess what? You're nothing. [Quarterbacks are thinking] I'm going to throw the ball at you. I got lucky and I got eight interceptions the first year I started. That gave me a chance to get into the elite class quicker, and I see these guys doing the same thing. You don't have to wait to be an elite corner in four, five or six years. If they give you the chance and you make the plays, that'll make you an elite corner."

Gray already sees the advantage of teams testing Waynes. Last year, he was targeted once out of every 4.9 snaps, which was tied for sixth most out of 117 qualifying cornerbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

The increased attention was expected with Waynes' limited NFL résumé. It resulted in three interceptions and 11 passes broken up. That was a welcomed confidence boost after a letdown rookie season, where he played most of his snaps on special teams. The door had been opened for Waynes to realize his potential.

"He's understanding that I'm not just trying to be a starter for the Minnesota Vikings. I am a starter, and now, I'm competing against the best guys in the league," Gray said. "I've talked to him about where I think he should be thinking about the last seven games. It's your time to make a push. They're going to give you opportunities, because the ball is going to come your way. If you make four or five interceptions, you're one of the best corners in the league at the end of the year."

Just as Newman mentored Rhodes through the early part of his career, Rhodes, in turn, has taken to Waynes to provide guidance.

And to mess with the younger cornerback -- "at least twice a day," Waynes said. "Just try to get under my skin, on my nerves. Some big brother s---. I'm a big brother, so I understand it.”

Rhodes, front, and Trae Waynes have developed a big brother-little brother relationship in their three seasons together in Minnesota. Bruce Kluckhohn/USA TODAY Sports

An area where Waynes has excelled in his third year is with his tackling. It has been argued that the Vikings not only have the best cover corner in the NFL in Rhodes, but also one of the league's best run-stopping corners in Waynes.

An accomplishment like that was likely considered a long shot when Waynes came into the league.

"You look at him, he's maybe 185 pounds. How can he get these guys down?" Gray said.

Rhodes offered his assessment with some brotherly jawing.

"I always told Trae when he first got here, 'You're too small. I don't think you're going to ever come up big and make a tackle,'" Rhodes said. "He proved me wrong on that. This year, he's coming down and showing a lot of heart in that aspect of his game."

Waynes is tied for fourth on the team with 46 total tackles, to go along with his two interceptions and eight pass deflections. His position is unique. Not only does Waynes get to learn from both Newman and Rhodes, he plays for a head coach known as "the cornerback whisperer."

Mike Zimmer has pointed out the aggressive approach Waynes has shown defensively, noting how he's getting better at recognizing routes and formations as well as understanding positioning and when to turn to find the ball.

"I like it, because then he holds you to a higher standard and that in the long run will make you play better," Waynes said of Zimmer. "He's constantly honest. He definitely tries to bring the best out of you."

Though it likely wasn't his intent at the time, Zimmer benefitted from some reverse psychology recently to reveal a side of his cornerback not typically seen.

Late in the fourth quarter in Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens, Waynes was lined up opposite receiver Chris Moore across the 20-yard line. Before the ball was snapped, safety Harrison Smith dropped back into coverage, which ended up being a critical move, as Joe Flacco launched deep to Moore, who caught a 23-yard pass and was pushed out of bounds by Smith.

Waynes got beat on his assignment. Zimmer "barked" at him from the sideline. In previous years, the soft-spoken Waynes might have hung his head and compartmentalized the verbal lashing.

Not this time. In a rare expression of emotion, Waynes fired back at his head coach.

"That was kind of a good thing," Zimmer said.

The most intense side you'll see from Waynes might only come when he's playing "Call of Duty," his favorite activity away from football, other than fishing and hanging out with his family.

"I'm a gamer. That's what I do," Waynes said. "My girlfriend hates it."

Waynes might never be the boisterous spirit in the locker room or leading the Skol chant on the field. His teammates have done their part to get him to open up, but even they know they can only push so far.

"He's showing a little bit more emotions on the field with his celebrations," Rhodes said. "Usually, he'd just get up and walk off, but we've been on him as a DB, like, 'Bro, you've got to celebrate a little bit more when you make a play.' He's starting to give in."

Waynes gets teased for having "bad" hands, but no one was teasing him after this interception in Week 3. Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

After a rough start to the season, Waynes finally broke through against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and picked off Jameis Winston in Week 3.

As expected, his teammates celebrated more than Waynes did.

"Trae can't catch. He ended up catching that one," Rhodes said. "We were thrilled. We were happy for him. He's catching the ball. That's amazing. Yes. Amazing. You should see him in practice. He's dropping everything."

The more plays Waynes makes, the more confidence he has in his own ability. Some of that has to do with the time that has passed. In his third year, Waynes says he understands the system, the playbook and what's expected of him. He trusts what he's seeing in front of him at the line of scrimmage and has a heightened sense of awareness that allows him to cover receivers a lot closer.

Most of all, he has learned to be patient. In time, things will click for him the way they did with Rhodes.

"Some people get it right away," he said. "Some people it takes a little bit longer. Everyone learns at their own speed."

Waynes is still being targeted more than any other Vikings player since Week 5, but whether teams respect him isn't his concern right now -- not three years in.

"I hope so, but I'm not banking on it," Waynes said. "I'm still going to go out there and play my game and not take any plays off. You never know in this league."

What Gray hopes for Waynes is that he takes the same attitude that built him into a great tackler and apply it to coverage. That's the next undertaking on Waynes' trajectory. It's more than just holding his end of the defense.

It's making teams realize the mistake they're making by throwing in Waynes' direction.

"Now when you start becoming one of the top guys, you knock the ball down and it's going to happen a lot -- PBUs will show up and then you'll have enough confidence to make interceptions," Gray said. "And now they won't run your way and they'll hardly throw your way. Make them go back to Xavier."