The Vikings will have to move on without one of the staples on their past defenses. Defensive end Everson Griffen, who played with Minnesota for 10 seasons, reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the Cowboys.
Griffen was a free agent after voiding his contract with the Vikings this offseason. Now that he is officially elsewhere, the Vikings’ need for Ifeadi Odenigbo
to step up is ever more apparent.
Odenigbo had seven sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 13 QB hits in 16 games and zero starts last year. Griffen had eight sacks, seven tackles for loss and 24 QB hits in 15 starts and 15 games played.
Odenigbo played 368 snaps in 2019 and put up somewhat comparable numbers to Griffen who played 848 snaps.
Stats don’t tell the whole story, but if Odenigbo takes on a bigger role and produces at a similar rate, he could be a big success as a starter.
The Vikings were reportedly pushing to bring Griffen back in recent days, with Mike Zimmer even getting involved. That should tell you that the team still valued Griffen a lot, despite having an ostensibly good player in the waiting.
That doesn’t change that Odenigbo is the probable starter now that Griffen has signed with Dallas. He’ll have to compete for the position, sure, but he seems the most likely based on his performance in 2019.
That defensive end position opposite Danielle Hunter is an important one. If that player isn’t able to perform, teams could theoretically hone in on Hunter and focus on blocking him more. Odenigbo will need to produce to take the pressure off Hunter.
If Minnesota wants to avoid regression, the defensive line will have to have players step into bigger roles and thrive. One of those players needs to be at defensive end. Odenigbo showed he was capable last season. Let’s see if he proves it.