PFF Calls Out iDL as Vikings Top Need after Free Agency
It is an area of the team that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah addressed with a couple of big signings, but Pro Football Focus still sees the interior of the defensive line as the Vikings’ biggest need post-free agency. It’s a point that can be argued, but it’s one I am prone to agree with.
PFF Calls Out iDL as Vikings Top Need after Free Agency
Minnesota signed Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in free agency as they looked to particularly give their interior pass rush a huge boost — something that has been non-existent in the last couple of seasons.
Those moves were rightly applauded, but it is hasty to declare that all of Minnesota’s defensive line issues have been solved, particularly in the long term. Add in the current Super Bowl Champions — Philadelphia Eagles — being the league’s poster boys for the “you can’t have too many good players in the trenches” slogan, and continuing to look for more on the defensive line makes sense.
Here’s what PFF had to say about their reasoning for selecting an interior defender as the Vikings’ biggest need ;
The Vikings signed Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen in free agency to bolster their defensive line. However, both players are on the wrong side of 30 and Allen is coming off back-to-back sub-60.0 PFF overall grades.
It’s no longer as dire of a need, but Minnesota would be smart to try to get younger along the interior defensive line. Michigan’s Kenneth Grant would be an ideal selection at No. 24, as he can slot in at nose tackle next to Allen and Hargrave.
The age of the incoming players is a fair point to make. It won’t be long before Minnesota is looking for younger alternatives, but for this season, at least, Allen and Hargrave should offer more than enough in the pass-rush department. The really interesting bit of this article comes from PFF’s assessment at nose tackle.
Should the Vikings Be in Search of a Stud NT?
Harrison Phillips has been the starting nose tackle in all three seasons since Kevin O’Connell became head coach in Minnesota. He’s been a solid, if unspectacular, presence in the middle of the DL. A lowly 58.8 overall grade would explain why he’s on PFF’s radar to be replaced. His 54.0 run defense grade was surprisingly low. Phillips signed a two-year contract extension last year, keeping him under contract until the end of next season.
A rookie like Kenneth Grant to come in alongside Phillips on Minnesota’s depth chart would add real strength to the Vikings. They’d have the insurance of a solid starter in place while bringing in the guy who can overtake and possibly improve in the 29-year-old Phillips. Grant’s athletic ability for a big nose tackle allows him to develop into something special.
Other First-Round Options at iDL
Minnesota has other options in the draft at DI, whether picking at 24 or trading back and picking a little later. Unlike Grant, the other options are interior defenders who would play as the three-technique and be the understudies to Allen and Hargrave.
These options include Walter Nolen, Derrick Harmon, Darius Alexander, and T.J. Sanders. Adding one of those four would give the Vikings some serious interior pass-rush firepower. Whoever it is that’s selected when the Vikings are first on the clock. If someone adds to the defensive line, it will get the thumbs up from me. If the Vikings are going to compete with the big guns in the NFC, like the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions, they need to improve in the trenches.
They have done that, but there’s plenty of room to get even better.
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