Vikings Versatile Defenders

Brian Flores is entering his fourth season as the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator. A staple of his time with the team has been versatility. He’s crafted a versatile defense played by versatile football players. Perhaps he learned the benefits of doing a lot of different things while playing defensive back and linebacker at Boston College. Maybe it was the 11 years with the New England Patriots learning from and coaching with Bill Belichick. When he got his head coaching shot with the Miami Dolphins in 2019, creating chaos for quarterbacks was the key to his defenses. He did that with blitzing and coverage. Quarterbacks didn’t know who was coming or dropping. A key to that indecision was players with versatility and Flores started collecting those players. He’s collected, or created, a few of them during his time in Minnesota. 

When thinking about a Brian Flores defense, it’s impossible not to think about all of the possibilities. The defense seems limitless because of the varied abilities of the football players that play in it. As training camp opened, the Vikings announced the signing of long-time impact safety Jamal Adams. It was a curious signing as everyone surrounding the Vikings, fans and media, have been waiting for a play/retirement decision from Harrison Smith. Was Adams coming in because Smith wasn’t? Who knows? Those questions seemed to be answered when Adams was given a #54 jersey. It looked like he was coming to Minnesota as a linebacker. Despite being a safety his entire NFL career, he’d mostly played linebacker last year with the Las Vegas Raiders. His Raiders snap distribution:

ILB: 254 snaps

Slot CB: 124 snaps

Left Edge: 38 snaps

Right Edge: 28 snaps

S: 2 snaps

Wide CB: 2 snaps

He only played two snaps at the position he spent all of his NFL days playing. So, the Vikings added a linebacker. Well, Adams was handed a new jersey over the weekend. #32. While the league has loosened jersey # requirements in recent years, some restrictions remain. Defensive backs not being able to were #s in the 50s are one of those restrictions. That’s too restricting for a player that was brought in for his versatility. 

Since the arrival of Brian Flores in Minnesota, Joshua Metellus has been the embodiment of the Vikings defensive versatility. Every snap has been a process of “Where’s #44?” for opposing offenses. Prior to the arrival of Flores in 2023, Metellus was a standout special teams player. Since, he’s been an impact defender, captain, and key to Flores’ dream of a defense not defined by positions. The Vikings added new versatile players each season since. The first was a reunion of Flores and outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel from their days in Miami. At times, Metellus’ versatility isn’t obvious. Van Ginkel’s versatility often is. He can wreck offenses from a variety of positions. One play, he’s wrecking a play on the line of scrimmage. The next play, he’s disrupting a screen. The next, he’s downfield in coverage. Every snap is an opportunity for Van Ginkel to rip up on an offense and flip a game. For most of his nine years in the league, Eric Wilson was a special teams standout and rotational/backup linebacker. His first four years in the league were in Minnesota. Then he went on something of a league walkabout with the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans, and Green Bay Packers. He returned to Minnesota last season and Flores discovered a new versatile defender. Wilson was dynamite as a pass rusher up the middle and off the edge. He was solid in coverage. An injury put him on the field and his untapped ability to do just about everything kept him on it. It also got him the first solid contract extension of his career. 

Joshua Metellus, Andrew Van Ginkel, Eric Wilson, and now Jamal Adams are perhaps the most obvious examples of the Vikings versatile defenders. There are more.

Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins

Drafted as a defensive lineman, Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins showed the ability at Georgia to play across the front. As a rookie last season, he showed some of that ability. He spent this past offseason redefining his body. It’s made him quicker, more agile. As a result, he’s shown the potential to extend his play to outside linebacker. Now, he’s considered a starter contender within the front trio and rotational support with the outside linebackers. 

Jake Golday

The Vikings selected Jake Golday in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. He was listed as a linebacker for the draft. The Vikings have much more in mind. He might be the eventual heir to Andrew Van Ginkel. That’s a lot to ask. There aren’t many football players like Van Ginkel. Golday appears to be one of them. It looks like the rookie is going to be on the field a lot because he can do a lot. 

Linebacker Blake Cashman is the heart of the Vikings defense. He’s primarily the signal-caller in the middle but he can play across the second and first levels. Cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. can play on the outside and move to the inside. Fifth-round rookie corner Chuck Demmings has been one of the breakout stars of training camp. His size and speed probably puts him on the outside. His freaky athleticism and quickness gives the ability to potentially play on the inside as well. 

Without even considering the possible return of Harrison Smith for his 15th season, the Vikings can potentially play nine defenders that have to be located on each snap. They could be found in a variety of positions on the field. The final two spots can be filled by defensive linemen Jalen Redmond and Caleb Banks that can play any defensive line spot. With so many players able to do so much, it might look like the Vikings are playing with more than 11 players. 

Brian Flores didn’t have a lot of defensive options when he arrived in Minnesota in 2023. Now, he does. He also has options with those options. I can’t wait to see those options causing chaos for opposing coordinators, quarterbacks, and offenses.