What Could've Been

 The Minnesota Vikings expected to open the 2020 NFL season with this defense. 

RE Yannick Ngakoue

DT Jaleel Johnson

NT Michael Pierce

LE Danielle Hunter

LB Anthony Barr

LB Eric Kendricks

LB Eric Wilson

CB Mike Hughes

CB Jeff Gladney/Cam Dantzler/Hoton Hill

S Harrison Smith

S Anthony Harris

Well, that isn't quite factual. By the time that Yannick Ngakoue was acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Vikings knew that Michael Pierce had opted out on the season due to COVID concerns and they probably knew that Danielle Hunter might miss a game or more. 

This is the Vikings defense that might be trotting onto the US Bank Stadium field to stop the Tennessee Titans tomorrow.

RE Yannick Ngakoue

DT Jaleel Johnson

NT Samar Stephen

LE Ifeadi Odenigbo

LB Eric Wilson

LB Eric Kendricks

LB Hardy Nickerson Jr./Ryan Connelly

CB Holton Hill

CB Jeff Gladney

S Harrison Smith

S Anthony Harris

What a difference a few weeks can make in the NFL. This isn't intended to be a mopey look at how some unfortunate circumstances dismantled a potentially dominant defense. Sure, it's a look at what could've been but it's also a look at what might be. It's exciting to think about a 2021 Vikings defense that includes the return of a healthy Anthony Barr and Michael Pierce and likely Yannick Ngakoue on a long-term deal. It will also include a more experienced cornerback group. None of that does anything for the remaining 14 games this season. The Vikings will be relying on some players tomorrow that were supposed to be role players this season. A couple of those players, Hardy Nickerson Jr. and Ryan Connelly, weren't even expected to be needed on the 53-man roster. All of these players will be relied upon to handle Ryan Tannehill, slow Derrick Henry, and keep the Titans from scoring more points than the Vikings offense scores. This daunting task kinda reminds me of a Thursday night game against the Arizona Cardinals in 2015. That depleted defense wasn't supposed to handle anything that the explosive Cardinals offense was going to throw at them. That Vikings defense showed up then and I believe that this Vikings defense will show up tomorrow. In Ngakoue, Kendricks, Smith, and Harris they have difference-makers, game-changers at each level. I expect them to make plays but it will take a group effort, a team defense. The Vikings have to get players in the Titans backfield, they have to get multiple players to Henry, and the cornerbacks have to play more to their talent than their age. If I had to pick a player to step up in a big way, that player would probably be Eric Wilson. But it sure would be nice to see an interior defensive lineman like Armon Watts or Jaleel Johnson rip apart the interior of the Titans offensive line. I like this "depleted" Vikings defense and I expect good things tomorrow.