Image Courtesy of Vikings.com
In Cleveland later this week, the Minnesota Vikings will make their highest draft selection since the 2015 NFL Draft when the organization selected Trae Waynes with the 11th pick. And that’s if general manager Rick Spielman “stays put” at #14.
The Vikings suffered a disappointing season in 2020, finishing with a 7-9 record. Because it was the worst record of the Mike Zimmer era since his rookie campaign, the team is slated to choose a more esteemed prospect on Thursday night.
That will likely be an EDGE rusher — whether Spielman actually makes a pick at #14 or if he trades back to stockpile draft capital for later in the weekend.
Why? There is too much uncertainty surrounding the return of Danielle Hunter from a season-long in injury in 2020. In all likelihood, Hunter will return to form and inspire fear on Sundays. But what if, in theory, he doesn’t? The Vikings would be stuck with a scaled-back Hunter and a career reservist defensive end in Stephen Weatherly to start at RDE. That gamble is too grim.
In mid-March, The Athletic reported that Hunter was discontented with his contract. It sent Vikings dealings into chaos, but the pandemonium piped down after Hunter’s agent denounced the reporting. However, if the perceived unhappiness by Hunter ticks up again between now and September — akin to the Stefon Diggs stuff from the spring of 2020 — the Vikings would be in a world of hurt. This is another reason why a pseudo-contingency plan is necessary.
Let’s face it — it’s time for the Vikings to choose an EDGE rusher in the 1st Round. The last time it occurred was in 2005 — the night when Aaron Rodgers was drafted by Green bay — and Minnesota chose Erasmus James, whose career never took off. Most teams invest some ilk of high draft capital in defensive ends. Just because the Vikings “don’t usually do it” — doesn’t mean the franchise should be immune to the idea.
Minnesota should want nothing to do with the pass rush of 2020. It was bogus. While watching games, mere hints of pressure on the opposing quarterback were grounds for glee. The 2014-2019 Vikings effectuated true-blue pressure, not the foreplay on display in 2020.
The numbers proved the futility. Pro Football Focus scored the Vikings as the very worst team via pass rush for the pandemic season. No other NFL franchise got to quarterbacks less. Yuck.
Ben Linsey from PFF, in detailing the league-worst predicament, wrote:
“The Vikings lost their starting edge tandem from the 2019 season of Danielle Hunter (to injury) and Everson Griffen (to free agency), and they struggled to replace that production in 2020. The only player on the team with more than 25 pressures was Ifeadi Odenigbo (42), and their team pressure rate of 21.6% ranked dead last over the course of the regular season. That was just part of the story for a Minnesota defense that parted ways with many of their starters this past offseason.”
Even with Hunter back at 100 percent, he alone will not drag the Vikings to the Top 10. Zimmer needs one more body on the right side of the line to bring a junior version of Hunter’s anarchism. Selecting a pass rusher like Kwity Paye, Jaelan Phillips, or Gregory Rousseau should do a better job at that than Weatherly.
On Kwity Paye from Michigan, he is the most-drafted name to the Vikings amid the last few weeks. His freakishness would pair beautifully with Hunter. Too, he could be available at #14 or if the Vikings slide back a few spots via trade.
The NFL — each and every season — trends to a passing-happier league. The emphasis on pass rush is not settling down; the opposite is trending. For years, Zimmer implemented a Danielle Hunter-Everson Griffen duo. Electively taking a step back from a talent perspective is counterproductive. The goal should be to find an RDE as fearsome as Griffen, not halfway there like Weatherly.
While Minnesota certainly needs offensive line attention, there is a chance that Spielman is “sick” of drafting early-round offensive trenchmen. He has chosen offensive linemen in the 2nd Round or higher in three consecutive drafts (2018: Brian O’Neill, 2019: Garrett Bradbury, 2020: Ezra Cleveland). The Vikings are the only team to allot that much OL attention — that early in three successive drafts.
So, it’s probably time to break the 16-year drought and select a 1st-Round EDGE rusher — with Hunter’s bounceback from a season-long neck injury looming in the backdrop.
View Comments
I think it would be a reach to draft an edge rusher unless we traded down. Based on multiple sources edge rushers are a bit weak this year. Especially as the first round goes. Get an offensive tackle.
YES YES YES,an offensive tackle,never saw an edge rusher protect his Q B
There's a lot of ways this draft could go. It really depends on who falls. The problem with the DE hypothesis is it is based on a projection of a draft that goes as expected. But that never happens. And there aren't really any value DEs that will fall to the Vikes. They will probably pick the first if things go as projected. So it is unlikely to be a value pick. So I doubt it.
so again,Cousins will be running for his life because Zimmer,once again, fails to recognize the importance of keeping his QB safe in the pocket with more time to complete more passes !! GREAT,another 7 & 9 record for the stumbling Vikings
If they were that worried about Hunter, they might have kept Odenigbo or signed one of the three or four veteran outside pass rushers still available for pretty cheap in free agency.
Unless Hunters neck injury removed his head, between Hunter, and the 2 new DTs, not to mention improved DB situation, the pass rush should be fine. 1st pick should only be one of 2 things. Either a TALENTED NFL READY OLINEMAN, or a QB capable of RUNNING FOR HIS LIFE! Yes, D wins championships, but you still need to be able to score when it COUNTS. Everytime vikes are in a "have to score now" situation, the Oline crumbles, and they loose. CANNOT KEEP MARCHING A DUMPSTER FIRE OLINE OUT THERE AND EXPECT TO COMPETE WITH REAL CONTENDERS! I feel the caps help show my frustration.?