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An Overview of the Minnesota Vikings Defense
The Vikings officially made the move from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in 2022. They did another reboot after that season, hiring current defensive coordinator Brian Flores to replace Ed Donatell. There was progress in the first year under Flores, as the unit went from 31st in total defense to the middle of the pack. The 2024 unit took it to a whole new level.
Last year's Vikings were one of four teams to hold opponents under 20 points per game. They were number two against the run in terms of yards, and tied for third, allowing four yards per carry. The pass defense gave up a lot of yards, but only because no one faced more throws. At 7 yards per attempt, Minnesota ranked eleventh. They led the league with 24 interceptions, were tied for first with 33 turnovers, and three teams tallied more than the Vikings' 49 sacks.
There were no gaping holes to fill in the offseason, but the organization still managed to improve the defensive roster. Last year's interior line was outstanding against the run, but only accounted for 5 of the 49 sacks. The answer was to sign veteran tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. They added veteran corners Jeff Okudah and Isaiah Rodgers to offset the loss of Stephon Gilmore and Shaquill Griffin, and brought back Eric Wilson for some depth at linebacker. The Vikings used a pair of third-day picks on a developmental tackle and a corner who could eventually contribute.
The tackles are an upgrade. The corners are probably not, but they are not necessarily a downgrade either. The bottom line is that this unit is capable of taking over games. With a little help from the offense, they should be in the thick of the fight for a division title.
Minnesota Vikings Defensive Linemen
On the heels of his 16.5 sack 2023, the Vikings took some heat for letting Danielle Hunter get away last offseason. This is what I wrote in last year's column: "No team wants to lose a great player like Hunter, but if you have to let one go, getting a replacement like Greenard is a great move. Greenard is not only much cheaper, but he is also younger and has shown Hunter-like potential".
The decision proved to be a good one for the team. Greenard rode a line of 41-18-12 with 4 forced fumbles and 3 batted passes, to a sixth-place finish at the position. That was ten slots ahead of Hunter. This was not a mirage or an outlier for Greenard, who had similar numbers with the Texans in 2023. Greenard is 28 years old, entering his sixth season as a pro. He's in the prime of his career, is a great fit in the scheme, and is as safe a target as it gets to repeat a top twelve rank.
Swapping Hunter for Greenard worked out fine. Replacing D.J. Wonnum with Andrew Van Ginkel was even better. Wonnum had a good 2023, putting up 60 tackles and 8 sacks. Credit the organization for realizing that was about where the ceiling is for him, and for recognizing that it was much higher for Van Ginkel.
Over his five seasons with the Dolphins, Van Ginkle had some exceptional stretches, but instead of seeing what they had and making him a full-time starter on the edge, Miami coaches elected to use him as more of a utility player. He was good in that role, recording 16 sacks, 9 turnovers, 21 pass breakups, and a pair of scores between 2020 and 2023, and that despite a virtually non-existent role in 2022. After last year, Van Ginkle will never have to worry about that happening again.
At 50-29-11.5 with 3 turnovers, 6 pass breakups, and a pair of scores, Van Ginkel led the league's edge defenders in solo stops, tied for the lead in combined tackles, and was the fantasy game's top dog at the position, outscoring number two, T.J. Watt, by over 30 points. There is some chance that the sack numbers will be a career outlier, but I wouldn't count on it. More likely, it is a sign of bigger things to come. History confirms that Van Ginkel's tackle production is real. It was the second time in four years that he totaled 50 solos, and the third time he totaled at least 69 combined.
In going from Hunter and Wonnum to Greenard and Van Ginkel, the team saved about 8.7 million on the cap in 2024. Van Ginkel is signed through the 2026 season, and Greenard through 2027. They both logged over 900 snaps last year and are in line for the same workload this year. We can never count on defenders scoring touchdowns, so I expect Van Ginkel to fall back to the pack in 2025. Like his counterpart, however, I do not expect him to fall short of the top twelve. Nor would I argue against making him the first edge off the board.
With the starters seeing roughly 80% of the snaps, there was not much opportunity for backups Patrick Jones II and Dallas Turner. They made the best of the chances they had. Between them, Jones and Turner totaled 31-28-10 on 708 plays. With Jones moving on, Turner should see the lion's share of those snaps this year.
Turner was the 17th overall pick last spring and brings a ton of talent to the mix. He checks all the boxes. He is blazing fast, highly athletic, has an explosive upfield burst, and put up impressive sack numbers at Alabama. As a junior in 2023, Turner totaled 53 tackles, 10 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles over 14 games. Turner played much of his rookie season on a sore knee. He opened the year with a week one sack, hurt his knee in week two, and then finished the year with two sacks over the last four games to finish 12-8-3 with a takeaway on 300 plays.
Chances are, Turner will not see enough action to be a factor in 2025. If, however, either of the starters is lost for an extended time, don't wait for him to go off before making the move. Otherwise, you may have competition for his services.
Beyond the top three, Minnesota is thin. Bo Richter, Gabriel Murphy, and Tyler Batty make up the rest of the depth chart. All three are second-year, former undrafted free agents. Between them, their resume included two tackles and three assists.
Nose tackle Harrison Phillips led the team's interior linemen in stops with 55 combined and in sacks with two. Even considering that 39 of them were assists, the tackle numbers were enough to make him roster-worthy. Phillips came over from Buffalo in 2022. In his first campaign with the Vikings, he went 27-32-1.5 with a pair of turnovers, to finish 23rd among tackles. In 2023, Phillips stepped up his game and went large at 43-46-3, jumping into the top ten for the only time in his career thus far. Even last year's odd numbers were enough to keep him in the top 25. At a perpetually shallow position, Phillips is worthy of consideration for depth, with the potential to tally enough production to become an every-week DT2.
The organization wanted more bang for its buck from the outside tackle spots. So they invested those bucks in Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. When healthy, Allen is among the best in the game, both in the NFL and in fantasy. He missed nine games last year with a partially torn pectoral. Normally an iron man, it was the first time he had missed a game since his rookie campaign in 2017.
Allen's numbers were down a bit in 2023 when his 30-23-5 landed at number 22 in the rankings. For the five prior years, he was fantasy gold. Allen averaged roughly 40-25-6.5 and a turnover during that span, which included five consecutive top ten rankings and a pair of top five. At 30 years old, he is on the back side of his career but still has plenty of gas in the tank. It will be interesting to see how Allen adapts from the three-technique in Washington's 4-3 to the five-technique in Minnesota's 3-4. That said, his skill set and athleticism bode well for a potential return to DT1 status.
Hargrave is a couple of years older, at 32, but has a very similar skill set. Hargrave spent his first four years at the outside tackle spot in a similar scheme with the Steelers. His numbers were solid in his final two seasons there, totaling 66-40-9.5. It is his time with the Eagles that makes Hargrave particularly interesting. In 2021, he totaled 62 combined tackles with 8 sacks and a turnover to rank sixth. For an encore, he was seventh in 2022, at 37-23-11 with 3 takeaways. Hargrave spent the last two seasons with San Francisco. He put up 7 sacks in 2023, but lackluster tackle production dropped him to just outside the DT2 conversation. He missed nearly all of last year with a torn triceps.
It is anyone's guess which Hargrave will show up in Minnesota. What we do know is that the potential is there from both the player and scheme perspective. The way his last two seasons have gone, Hargrave will be out of sight, out of mind for most IDP drafters. That means he can be picked up at the end of the draft as depth with a high ceiling.
Like the edge position, the Vikings have very little experience behind the starting tackles. Fifth-round rookie Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins will compete with a handful of other young guys to establish the rest of the pecking order. An injury to any of the starters could be an issue.
- Edge Jonathan Greenard – Strong edge1 with top-five potential
- Edge Andrew Van Ginkel – Could be at the top of the list for a second straight year
- Edge Dallas Turner – Injury sleeper with dynasty value
- Edge Gabriel Murphy – No impact
- Edge Bo Richter – No impact
- DT Jonathan Allen – Target as a priority DT2 with upside
- DT Javon Hargrave – Target as depth with upside
- DT Harrison Phillips – Solid depth with a low ceiling
- DT Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins – Developmental rookie who could see rotational time
- DT Jalen Redmond – Injury sleeper
- DT Jonathan Harris – No impact expected
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