Minnesota Vikings Linebackers

With new defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Minnesota Vikings head into a second season with a base 3-4 defense. Last season’s 3-4 was a defense that should be forgotten. This season’s 3-4 should be fun. Flores has suggested a defense flexible to the offense in front of them. The Vikings defense will be a flexible defense with a 3-4 at its origins. As such, the outside linebackers are pass rushers. As such, the outside linebackers are more linemen than backers of the line. Danielle Hunter, Marcus Davenport, and friends should be spending most of their time in the opposing team’s backfield. Not their own. Moving forward, linebacker feels like the smallest, in number, position group in the Vikings defense. 

The Vikings Linebackers:

Brian Asamoah II

Jordan Hicks

Troy Dye

Troy Reeder

William Kwenkeu

Ivan Pace Jr.

Abraham Beauplan

Wilson Huber

Based on experience and play, Jordan Hicks is the clear leader of the group. Brian Asamoah II is the future of the group. And present. Not a lot is expected out of the Vikings defense. Injuries and a shitty scheme last season has resulted in a three-year run of bad defense in Minnesota. Flores is perhaps the biggest reason for a defensive change. Asamoah will be an on-field reason. With his experience and instincts, Hicks should be the quarterback of the defense. With his explosiveness and versatility, Asamoah will be a difference-maker. The Vikings defense is having a youthful makeover. Harrison Smith is the outlier in the secondary. Hicks is the outlier in the middle. Other than those two outliers, the back of the Vikings defense is manned entirely by 25s and younger. 

Personally, I don’t think that the Vikings linebackers will be at their best until Asamoah and Ivan Pace Jr. are roaming the middle. Despite being undrafed, I feel that Pace will force his way into the lineup as early as this season. Not necessarily as a starter. Hicks is a very good football player. I just like Pace. I still can’t believe that he went undrafted. He was a fourth-round pick, or better, in my book. 

The Vikings brought in Troy Reeder as a veteran linebacker. Other than Hicks, he’s the only linebacker with some starting experience. Troy Dye is a very good special teams player. June is too early to be whittling away at the roster. Despite that, I can’t imagine a Vikings linebacker group that doesn’t start with the following: 

Brian Asamoah II

Jordan Hicks

Ivan Pace Jr.

If the Vikings keep four linebackers, it’s a battle between the Troys for the final roster spot. If the Vikings keep five linebackers, it’s a battle between a Troy and probably William Kwenkeu for the final spot. 

If it were up to me, I’d keep four linebackers and perhaps an extra interior defensive lineman. 

I believe that the Vikings have a couple linebacker gems in Asamoah and Pace. Asamoah is approaching his second year in the league with very limited experience as a rookie. Pace is an undrafted rookie. It’s a good thing that Jordan Hicks is on the roster. Even if he might be the third or fourth most talented linebacker on the team. Hicks is a good football player. His leadership and know-how will be even more important than his on-field abilities. As with much of the Vikings defense, the linebackers are about change. Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks manned the middle of the defense for seven seasons. Barr left last offseason. Kendricks left this offseason. Now, it’s Hicks and Asamoah. I have faith in Brian Flores getting the defense playing better than it has in recent seasons. I have high hopes in the young linebackers and the one old linebacker that will be manning the middle of the defense.