Minnesota lost a lot of pieces to its defense in 2019, but our friends over at Touchdown Wire think the team will still rank in the top-10 on that side of the ball.
Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire recently ranked NFL defenses from worst to best, and the Vikings came in at No. 9 on the list. Here’s what he said about the ranking:
“The Vikings were able to finish seventh in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted defensive metrics in 2019, down from fourth in 2018, despite fairly disastrous seasons from outside cornerbacks Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes, who combined for 10 touchdowns allowed and just one interception. Both are gone now, and the hope is that first-round cornerback Jeff Gladney from TCU can ramp things up a bit, along with third-year man Mike Hughes. Watch out for fourth-round linebacker Troy Dye from Oregon, who has the athleticism to add to an already stacked position group.”
Notably, the Vikings were ranked ahead of the Packers and the Lions on the defensive rankings. However, the Bears came in at No. 7.