Vikings Defensive Line Receives Top 10 Ranking
The Minnesota Vikings’ defensive line intrigued me going into this season. On the edge, personnel has been majorly overhauled, while on the interior, which was arguably the team’s weakest area, no major additions were made.
Vikings Defensive Line Receives Top 10 Ranking
How would the group fare this season? On the evidence of Week 1, the signs are encouraging, and the Vikings defensive line receives a top 10 ranking in Pro Football Focus’s first DL rankings of the season.
The Vikings unit comes in at number nine on the list with a team grade of 69.9. PFF’s ranking only considers play from this season, so while one good game as the Vikings unit is riding high, one bad game could flip that on its head. All we have to do is look at Week 1’s impressive display against the Giants, so let’s look at the individual grades and what PFF had to say about the Vikings’ ninth-place ranking.
Top five snap counts
- Edge Jonathan Greenard (60.4)
- Edge Andre Van Ginkel (90.6)
- DI Jerry Tillery (65.5)
- DI Harrison Phillips (80.3)
- Edge Dallas Turner (40.7)
Other PFF grades are Jonathan Bullard (68.1), Taki Taimani (58.4), Jihad Ward (79.9), and Patrick Jones (41.3).
John Kosko wrote of the Vikings DL’s Week 1 performance;
The Vikings’ defense pressured Daniel Jones all game long, resulting in one of the best performances of the week. Jones was under pressure on 40% of his dropbacks, and the Vikings also used their defensive line in coverage on a handful of plays to confuse him.
Best Player: Andrew Van Ginkel
Van Ginkel earned an impressive 90.6 grade, highlighted by a sack and an interception against Jones. He also contributed two key stops during the game.
Positive Start For The New Additions
Of the nine players that played across the defensive line in Week 1, only three were with the Vikings last season. It was a good day for those three, with Harrison Phillips dominant in the middle of the line while registering his first sack of the season and a pass deflection. Jonathan Bullard was his usual solid veteran self, and Patrick Jones had two sacks, double his total from last season. The rest of the DL comprised new faces, and everyone was doing well in their separate roles.
Van Ginkel led the way and is already a fan favorite in Minnesota. Not only does he look the part of a Viking, but he plays the part on the field. Jonathan Greenard was the Vikings’ big-money signing during the offseason. It was a case of close but not quite in his Vikings debut, as he led the team with five pressures but never registered anything on the stat sheet. The skillset was on show, and bigger days in terms of sacks and tackles will come.
The use of Jihad Ward as an interior pass rusher looks to be an inspired move from Brian Flores. A journeyman edge rushed into his sixth team in nine seasons, Ward’s four pressures and 2 QB hits solved a long-standing problem for the Vikings in Week 1. If he can replicate that performance throughout the season, it will be a huge bonus for the Vikings. Jerry Tillery was a pleasant surprise with three tackles, a pass deflection, and a QB hit. The hope is that Flores can get the failed former first-round pick’s career up and running. The early signs are good.
The Rookies
Minnesota had two rookies on the field in Week 1: Dallas Turner and Taki Taimani. They came from opposite ends of the draft process: a first-round pick in Turner and an undrafted rookie in Taimani. Playing time in Week 1 was a great achievement for Taimani, who won the backup nose tackle job in camp.
Of course, the main focus was on Turner, who was used as a pass rush specialist by Flores, which will likely be his role in the early part of his career. Turner celebrated his first sack as a Viking, the first of many. There wasn’t a great deal outside of the sack, but with two quality players like Greenard and Van Ginkel ahead of him, he has all the time in the world to hone his craft.
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