7 Vikings Who Made PFF Positional Rankings | Defense
Following on from the article about the Vikings, who made the PFF position rankings on offense. It’s now time to look at the defensive side of the ball.
7 Vikings Who Made PFF Positional Rankings | Defense
Just like the offense, seven players made the list on the defensive side of the ball. No players for the iDL or CB positions made the cut, but the safety group had a very strong showing. Three of the players listed are new signings that Minnesota will hope will lead to an improved defense.
EDGE – 24. Andrew Van Ginkel
The first of the three new signings is outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel. Drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 2019 when Brian Flores was the head coach, Van Ginkel has always been a good player but stepped up in 2023. He has the all-around skillset that should see him continue to throw in the Vikings offensive coordinator’s system.
Trevor Sikkema placed Van Ginkel 24th among edge defenders, raising the question of whether he can repeat last season’s success.
Van Ginkel had a career year in almost every category in 2023, earning a 91.2 overall grade with a 90.6 pass-rush grade. His 53 quarterback pressures and 18.1% pass-rush win rate were both by far the best marks of his career. We’ll see if he can continue that impactful play with the Minnesota Vikings.
Trevor Sikkema
EDGE – 30. Jonathan Greenard
The other new signing on the edge is Jonathan Greenard, the man the Vikings will be looking at to fill the big shoes of the departed Danielle Hunter.
Greenard will be the primary pass-rush threat in Minnesota’s defense. Sikkema only just found space for Greenard at number 30: “Greenard enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2023, with a 78.2 overall grade thanks to a 73.2 pass-rush grade. He finished the year with 12.5 sacks and a 12.8% pass-rush win rate. He’ll now look to build on that as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.”
LB – 23. Ivan Pace Jr.
Ivan Pace Jr. was quite the story last season. Surprisingly undrafted, the Vikings picked up Pace, who made the league look foolish. Pace earned game time on defense from Week 1 and became a vital cog in Flores’ defense by the end of the season. Named to the All-Rookie team, Pace will look to build on an excellent rookie season and become a well-rounded linebacker.
Gordon McGuinness wrote of Pace’s pass-rushing abilities when naming him at 23 in his list: “The undrafted Pace has already proven that he deserved to have heard his name called in 2023, with his ability as a blitzer immediately translating at the NFL level. He finished his rookie season with a 78.0 PFF pass-rush grade after registering 15 quarterback pressures from 109 pass-rushing snaps.”
LB – 29. Blake Cashman
The Vikings signed Blake Cashman to prowl the middle of the field with Pace, and Minnesota hopes they have a pair for the long term. Cashman is another player the Vikings signed in free agency on the back of a career year. The Minnesota native, who also played college football for his home state, made the dream move to the Vikings after five seasons in the league. Originally drafted in the fifth round by the New York Jets, he moved to the Houston Texans after three season, where in Year 2 he finally broke out as a starter.
Cashman turned a career year with the Texans into a free-agent deal with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. He faded as the 2023 season went on, but his 82.1 PFF overall grade ranked eighth at the position.
Gordon McGuinness
S- 16. Harrison Smith
Harrison Smith is undoubtedly not the player he once was, but his decline after 12 seasons in the league still puts him at a level better than most. Zoltan Buday ranked Smith highest of the three Vikings safeties he put in his top 32.
At 35 years old, Smith, who is arguably the best safety of the past 10 seasons, might not be the player he once was, but he still plays at a high level.
Across the first eight weeks of the 2023 season, he ranked 17th both in PFF overall grade and coverage grade. He allowed just 8.3 yards per reception in 2023, the fifth-lowest mark among safeties.
Zoltan Buday
S – 19. Josh Metellus
In 2023, Josh Metellus became coach Flores’ Swiss army knife. He was asked to do it all, and Metellus stepped in and did it all to a good standard. Officially playing as the third safety, Metellus could line up anywhere on any given play.
Metellus flashed ability on his way to an 85.1 PFF overall grade in 2022 in a limited role, but 2023 represented a new challenge. It was the first time that Metellus logged more than 300 snaps, and he immediately topped 1,000. He did not disappoint in an increased role, as he was among the NFL’s more versatile safeties and led the position with 116 pass-rush snaps. He was one of just five safeties to earn coverage, pass-rush and run-defense grades all above 64.0.
Zolyan Buday
S – 25. Camryn Bynum
No player thrived more under the new defensive coordinator than Camryn Bynum. Buday pointed out, “Although he went through a sophomore slump in his first full season as a starter in 2022, Bynum bounced back and finished 2023 as the 22nd-ranked safety in PFF grade.”
“Bynum’s 85.7 overall grade after the first 14 weeks ranked fourth at the position. He also tied for the most forced incompletions over the season (nine) and could have had an even better season if he capitalized on a league-leading three dropped interceptions.”
Bynum’s performances — like the rest of his teammates — slipped over the last few games of the season. Otherwise, we could have been talking about an even bigger breakout season and Bynum featuring higher on this list. The challenge for the Filipino this season is finding consistency across the entire season.
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