The Minnesota Vikings defense that was on the field to close the disappointing 2020 season was a disaster. Injuries before the season and injuries throughout the season simply whittled away too much. The 2021 Vikings defense will be a revelation. Optimism is building for this season in Minnesota. Much of it’s due to a potentially explosive offense. Most of it’s due to a return to normalcy for a Mike Zimmer-led defense. Most of this offseason’s moves were focused on fixing the defense. On paper, that was accomplished. Now, those fixes have to translate to the field. That starts in training camp. There will be competition for starting spots at each level of the defense. Seeing as there’s so much competition for roles across the defense I’ll focus on a level a day. Starting with the defensive line.
Defensive End
Danielle Hunter is back! He returns from a season missed to a “tweaked” neck. His return is huge for the defensive line, the defense, and the entire team. The competition to start opposite Hunter is wide open. Returning from a sabbatical with the Carolina Panthers is veteran Stephen Weatherly. He likely tops the depth chart entering training camp. Coming out of training camp is a whole other story. D.J. Wonnum had some nice moments as a rookie last season. The highlight being the game-sealing sack of Aaron Rodgers to wrap up the win in Green Bay. Patrick Jones II was selected in the third round and Janarius Robinson in the fourth round to compete for playing time. Strangely, Wonnum, Jones, and Robinson are strikingly similar to Hunter when he came out of LSU in 2015. Similar physically. Similar athletically. The Vikings have a defensive end-type and the three young players fit it. The hope is that they develop as Hunter did. Sending long, athletic ends at quarterbacks on an every down basis is the objective. Weatherly fits that long, athletic build as well.
This is a big training camp for Jalyn Holmes and Hercules Mata’afa. Both have been with the team for a few years with light results. With nine starts, Holmes got his most extensive playing experience last season. He filled a modest stat sheet. Mata’afa has clawed out a role as a situational pass rusher. He had 2.5 sacks last season. Jordan Brailford joined the team last season as injuries ripped apart the defensive line. Kenny Willekes is a high-effort, 2020 seventh-round pick that missed all of last season with an injury. I’ve hoped that Holmes would develop into an every down player since he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft. I’ve been a fan of Mata’afa since his Washington State days as a game-wrecking, undersized interior player. Brailford made a few splash plays last season when the defense desperately needed someone to do something. Despite appreciating qualities in Holmes, Mata’afa, Brailford, and Willekes, I can’t help but think that the Vikings 2021 defensive end group will be one filled with five 6’5’, 260 lb physical freaks. I expect significant rotation across the defensive line. As a result, I think that five ends will be preferred over four. While Weatherly might be the top contender to start opposite Hunter, I’m going with Robinson eventually establishing himself as the starter. Perhaps not during training camp, perhaps not even after training camp but at some point early in his career. There’s just something about him.
Defensive Tackle
This might be the most interesting position group on the Vikings team. It’s either defensive tackle or cornerback. For today, it’s definitely defensive tackle. For one, the starters last year (Shamar Stephen and Jaleel Johnson) aren’t even on the team this year. For two, the starters this year (Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson) weren’t even on the roster last year. Nose tackle Michael Pierce was the big free agent signing last offseason. He was signed to fill the considerable hole left by Linval Joseph. Due to significant health concerns, Pierce decided to opt out on the 2020 season. Technically he’s been with the Vikings for a year but he hadn’t even taken a practice snap for the team until this offseason. Teams often ran at will on the Vikings defense last season. To fix that embarrassment, Dalvin Tomlinson was signed in free agency. Pierce and Tomlinson form a formidable interior. Many Vikings beat writers grumbled about the Vikings signing a second nose tackle when they signed Tomlinson. I’ve always thought of Tomlinson as a player with Akiem Hicks-like potential. He can play nose tackle AND three-technique. He can stop the run AND be a general nuisance in the offensive backfield. Hicks has simply wrecked the Vikings offense whenever he’s been healthy. I’m hoping that Tomlinson can do the same to opposing offenses. I can’t wait to see Pierce and Tomlinson this season. I haven’t been this excited about a pair of Vikings defensive tackles since the days of Kevin and Pat Williams. Just when it appeared that the Vikings were set at defensive tackle, they brought back Sheldon Richardson. The interior duo became a trio. When thinking of Pierce, Tomlinson, and Richardson I can’t help but think of the interior defensive line of the Chicago Bears. Hicks has been a one-man wrecking crew but a big part of his impact has been the wave of Bears defensive tackles that have come at offenses. They were all fresh for four quarters. A defensive tackle group topped by Pierce, Tomlinson, and Richardson should be fresh for four quarters. The trio won’t be alone.
I’d hate to be the one to trim the Vikings defensive tackle group (or any position group) so that it fits into the final roster. Penciling in Pierce, Tomlinson, and Richardson is easy. At the end of the 2019 season I felt that rookie Armon Watts was on his way to becoming an impactful defensive tackle. He didn’t take that next step last season. The defense was a mess. It was damn near impossible for any young player to take that next step. New players were signed on a weekly basis. Watts, or any defensive player, could look to his right or left and not even know the player next to him. While the additions of Pierce, Tomlinson, and Richardson might’ve taken Watts out of the starting lineup they didn’t take him off of the field. He’ll be a big part of a fun defensive line rotation. James Lynch was drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft to be an interior pass rusher. For all of the reasons already mentioned it’s really tough to take anything of substance from last season’s Vikings defense. Lynch had a couple splash plays but was mostly lost in the shuffle and the mess. Jaylen Twyman was selected in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft to be an interior pass rusher. He was outstanding in that role for Pitt in 2019. His production, stature, and Pitt uniform even triggered thoughts of the incredible Aaron Donald. If Twyman had been eligible for the 2019 Draft, maybe he’s a Day 2 pick. Instead, he opted out on the 2020 season and drifted down the draft boards of many teams. Some of that drift was due to his opt-out. Most was due to a poor performance at his Pro Day. Despite that performance, I couldn’t shake his play in 2019. He was a personal favorite throughout the evaluation process and I was thrilled when the Vikings selected him. If I had to pick between Lynch and Twyman, I’d go with Twyman. That’s based on nothing more than favoritism. I haven’t seen Twyman play in the NFL and I haven’t seen Lynch play in a defense that wasn’t a mess. Undrafted free agents Zeandae Johnson and Jordon Scott round out the defensive tackle group. Johnson went to Cal so he’s my favorite to earn a developmental role on the practice squad. I like the Vikings with five defensive tackles and I like Watts and Twyman to round out the five.
One interesting aspect of the additions of Pierce, Tomlinson, and Richardson is the possibility of Zimmer and his defensive coaches dabbling with various odd-man fronts. The Vikings have been a 4-3 defense for all but a few years of six my decades following the team. Those few years in the early 1980s felt weird. It’s weird, but exciting, to think of them in variations of a 3-4 now. Pierce on the nose. Tomlinson and Richardson at the ends. Danielle Hunter and Anthony Barr on the edges. Oh my. The possibilities are exciting. The number of players and combination of players that the Vikings can send in waves at offenses is exciting. It’s all so exciting. I can’t wait. I can’t wait for training camp. I can’t wait for this season.
Tomorrow: The Linebackers.
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