Vikings new pass rushing duo will make all three phases of the defense better

There are many reasons for Vikings fans to get excited just a few days away from the regular season opener, but the new and improved pass rushing duo needs to be atop that list.

The Minnesota Vikings have historically been known for having a great group of pass rushers. Over the last decade it’s seemed as if there’s been one veteran paired with an up-and-coming star at the position.  

A few names that come to mind in recent history consist of Brian Robison, Jared Allen, followed by Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter. The Vikings have done a fantastic job at both drafting and bringing in players at one of the most important positions on the field and that didn’t stop in 2020. 

Just a couple weeks before the beginning of the regular season the Vikings brought in another elite pass rusher to pair with Hunter. Yannick Ngakoue has totaled 37.5 sacks since entering the league in 2016 to go along with Hunter’s 54.5 sacks since 2015. He’s only 25, the same age as Hunter.

This move was critical for the Vikings because they were lacking depth along their defensive line, but it goes much deeper than that. Since the NFC Championship Game, the Vikings defense hasn’t looked the same. The cornerbacks were never able to get back to what they were that season and the Vikings moved on from all three of their starters this offseason. 

That means the team will have new faces starting in their secondary this season. When the Vikings released their first unofficial depth chart of 2020 it had Mike Hughes and Holton Hill as the starting cornerbacks. The other four to make the roster were Jeff Gladney, Cameron Dantzler, Kris Boyd and Harrison Hand. 

Three of the six cornerbacks are rookies and the other three have very limited playing time throughout their first few seasons in Minnesota. The average age in the Vikings cornerbacks room is 22.5 years old. 

The good news for Vikings fans is that Mike Zimmer has had a historically good track record in terms of developing cornerbacks. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the team’s cornerbacks have very limited experience ahead of the week one opener against the Green Bay Packers. 

The ability to get to opposing quarterbacks without sending blitzes will help ease the pressure being put on the youthful cornerbacks group.

That is why the Ngakoue addition is going to be so critical to this team. The Vikings already had a great duo at linebacker and safety, but they didn’t have the depth needed at the pass rushing position. 

Ifeadi Odenigbo showed flashes of being a great player in 2019 and finished the season with seven sacks. It would have likely been his job to lose if Ngakoue was never acquired, but this now gives him and D.J. Wonnum more time to learn under Andre Patterson. 

Ngakoue and Hunter are going to be a force to be reckoned with on the defensive line. There are many reasons for Vikings fans to get excited just a few days away from the regular season opener, but the new and improved pass rushing duo needs to be atop that list.