Tag: Andrew Van Ginkel

PFF doesn’t think highly of Vikings defensive line heading into 2024

Pro Football Focus does not view the Vikings’ defensive line as a very good aspect of the team heading into the 2024 season.

The Vikings’ defense will look slightly different when they hit the field this fall. In particular, the Minnesota defensive line that lost star Danielle Hunter to free agency and role player DJ Wonnum is no longer with the team. However, Minnesota filled the need for free agency by adding Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel. The Vikings also drafted star Edge rusher Dallas Turner out of Alabama.

That sounds like a good fit for the Vikings in ’24, right? Well, not to everyone.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Vikings’ defensive line is ranked 30th in football. Only the Broncos and Cardinals are ranked behind Minnesota.

The Vikings’ offseason free agency swap of Danielle Hunter for Jonathan Greenardwas likely a downgrade, even if they got younger and cheaper in the process. Andrew Van Ginkel earned a 91.1 PFF overall grade last season, but that was a massive outlier in a career that has typically seen him post grades in the 60s and 70s.

Rookie Dallas Turner will have high expectations, but the interior of this line is a weakness.

The interior line is a bit concerning outside of Harrison Phillps, who is a solid football player. There is still time for the Vikings to shore up the interior line, but it does feel like there are enough Edge rushers to get the job done.

Vikings may have a plan to increase interior pass rush success in 2024

The Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles ranked at or near the bottom in pass rush in 2023. What’s the plan to improve that next season?

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has certainly improved the Minnesota Vikings’ defense during his tenure with the team. But one aspect the team can still improve upon is its ability to get a pass rush up the middle. Last season, defensive tackles Harrison Phillips and Jonathan Bullard finished 176th and 185th out of 185 defenders who rushed the passer at least 200 times.

So how does Flores improve upon that performance? According to The Athletic’s Minnesota Vikings beat writer Alec Lewis, the team may have two solutions to the problem. The first could come in the form of free agent acquisition Jerry Tillery. Tillery, a former first-round pick, was the 88th-ranked pass rusher last season. Not on the level of Quinnen Williams, Chris Jones, or Aaron Donald (as Lewis points out), but certainly an improvement.

The other potential solution Lewis suggests is to increase the frequency with which the defensive line uses stunts. Last season, the Vikings were 27th in the league in defensive stunts, using them on just 23 percent of snaps per PFF. Contrast that with Flores’ 2021 Miami Dolphins team, who used stunts on more than 30 percent of defensive snaps, good for third that season.

Bringing in former Miami Dolphins EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel should help the Vikings improve that number if that’s the route the defense goes. Van Ginkel has shown good speed and agility during his years with the Dolphins, and he’s familiar with Flores’ scheme and what he wants out of his pass rushers.

Vikings first-round pick Dallas Turner should also be able to help on that front, as he “can be a menace as bender between the tackles,” as Lewis puts it. Those two additions to the Vikings front should allow Flores to increase their creativity, something he excelled at last season despite the poor pass-rushing performance up front.

No timetable on Andrew Van Ginkel, T.J. Hockenson returning to practice

The Vikings made a splash this in free agency by signing Andrew Van Ginkel, but the team isn’t sure when they will see him on the field.

The Minnesota Vikings made a splash this offseason in free agency by signing Andrew Van Ginkel, but the team isn’t sure when they will see him on the field. Joining him in the uncertainty is T.J. Hockenson as he works his way back from a torn ACL.

Both men had their 2023 seasons ended by injury. Now, the Vikings don’t know when their 2024 season will begin.

Kevin O’Connell spoke to the media this week and updated them on their status with the team and their health.

“We’re very pleased with where they’re at. They’ve pretty much been 100% participation in a camp they can’t participate in every rep.”

The Physically Unable to Perform List is a possibility for both men, nothing has been officially mentioned about that, but it would allow for some roster flexibility. It would also allow for the team to take their time in bringing them back as they would be out until after Week 6 of the 2024 season.

Both of them doing some work in camp is promising but for now their status in the longterm picture remains murky.

Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel recognized in PFF’s edge rusher rankings

Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel were ranked in the top 32 edge rushers by PFF.

The 2024 Minnesota Vikings defense will look slightly different when they take the field this fall. The Vikings lost vets like Jordan Hicks, Danielle Hunter, and D.J. Wonnum. But the team brass did a great job at filling the roster with quality players and drafted some talent as well.

Minnesota signed two free agent edge rushers — former Dolphin Andrew Van Ginkel and former Texan Jonathan Greenard — to fill the void left by the losses of Hunter, Wonnum, and Marcus Davenport.

Van Ginkel had 69 tackles and a career-high six sacks in 2023 with Miami. Greenard also had a career year. The former third-round pick had 52 tackles and 12.5 sacks in ’23, topping his previous best of eight sacks in 2021.

With both having career years last season, Pro Football Focus had both of them listed in their top 32 edge rusher rankings. You can find a couple of other familiar names on the list as well.

Van Ginkel came in at No. 24.

Van Ginkel had a career year in almost every category in 2023, earning a 91.2 overall grade with a 90.6 pass-rush grade. His 53 quarterback pressures and 18.1% pass-rush win rate were both by far the best marks of his career. We’ll see if he can continue that impactful play with the Minnesota Vikings.

Greenard was ranked at No. 30.

Greenard enjoyed his best season as a pro in 2023, with a 78.2 overall grade thanks to a 73.2 pass-rush grade. He finished the year with 12.5 sacks and a 12.8% pass-rush win rate. He’ll now look to build on that as a member of the Minnesota Vikings.

It’s worth noting that Hunter was ranked at No. 16. Although he didn’t play much last season, Davenport was ranked No. 32 overall.

How three new edge-rushers can correct the Vikings’ boom-or-bust blitz approach

The Vikings redefined their defensive line so that Brian Flores’ blitz-heavy approach will actually work, and it should pay off in 2024.

It should surprise no one familiar with Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ body of work that Minnesota ranked first in the NFL last season in blitz rate — at 51.5%, they were the only NFL team to bring the house in a relative sense on more than half their defensive snaps. However, their 43 sacks and 21.9% pressure rate were decidedly middle of the pack.

That boom-and-bust problem came from the field to a large degree. In 2023, Danielle Hunter led the Vikings with 18 sacks and 80 total pressures. After that, it was D.J. Wonnum with nine sacks and 38 total pressures. After that? Well, safety Harrison Phillips ranked third on the team with four sacks, and with no disrespect to Mr. Philips, that’s not what you want out of your defense. The Vikings lost Hunter in the offseason to the Houston Texans, so general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had some work to do, and that would have been the case had he been able to keep Hunter on the roster.

The path started with a switch, as the Vikings signed former Texans edge-rusher Jonathan Greenard to a four-year, $76 million contract with $42 million guaranteed. The former third-round pick out of Florida had a career in 2023 with 14 sacks and 53 total pressures. Greenard doesn’t have Hunter’s explosiveness off the snap, but he does bring a nice combination of power, speed, and pass-rush moves. 

Step 2 was the addition of ex-Dolphins defender Andrew Van Ginkel with a two-year, $20 million contract with $13 million guaranteed. Last season, Van Ginkel had his own career year with eight sacks and 53 total pressures, and he did that at the line and as an off-ball linebacker — which makes his place in Flores’ multiple blitz packages especially interesting. 

Then, the Vikings took Alabama edge-rusher Dallas Turner with the 17th overall pick in the draft. Turner has yet to fully develop his pass-rush arsenal, but his skill set is reminiscent of a young Danielle Hunter, and Turner said after he was drafted that he models his game after Hunter’s.

“Because of the body type,” Turner said of Hunter. “He’s not that big. He’s definitely swole, but the body type, he’s not the most fast or athletic dude, but he gets it done every time, so I really see that a lot and watched his film a lot. Some of the moves that he did, I kind of did, too.” 

Ideally, this acquisition of riches will make Flores’ defense everything he wants it to be with his aggressive playbook.

Nik Needham shows photo of two former Dolphins he keeps in his locker

Nik Needham is the only Dolphins player left from the team’s 2019 rookie class.

When the Miami Dolphins allowed both Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkel to leave in free agency, it left no 2019 draftees on the roster.

Cornerback Nik Needham wasn’t picked in the 2019 NFL draft, but he earned a spot on the Dolphins’ roster that year as an undrafted rookie. And after re-signing with Miami in March, Needham is now the only player left from the team’s 2019 rookie class.

On Wednesday, Needham shared on Instagram that he’s keeping a photo of his now-former Dolphins teammates in his locker:

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In March, Wilkins agreed to a massive four-year, $110 million deal with the Las Vegas Raiders. Van Ginkel signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the Minnesota Vikings.

Needham has appeared in 61 games in five seasons with the Dolphins and has recorded six interceptions, three sacks, and 25 pass deflections. The one-year deal he signed with the team last month is set to pay him $1.29 million for the 2024 season.

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Brian Flores had a lot to do with the Vikings pursuit of Andrew Van Ginkel

Miami’s former head coach was a big reason the LB left for Minnesota.

During the first few days of free agency, the Miami Dolphins lost a number of key players, including linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who signed a two-year, $20 million contract to join the Minnesota Vikings.

Van Ginkel was an impact player for Miami despite having his opportunities dip at times. In 73 career games wearing aqua and orange, the former Wisconsin Badger recorded 250 tackles (31 for a loss), 57 quarterback hits, 21 passes defended, 17 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumbles recovered and two interceptions.

Speaking during the NFL’s annual meetings, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell shared why they were so aggressive in targeting the edge rusher.

“I think [Brian Flores’] background with him and, obviously, a lot of my offensive coaches and myself on the offensive side have had some trouble playing against Gink over the past few years,” O’Connell said (transcribed by the South Florida Sun Sentinel). “I think, just the versatility of what he means to our team, really, what it means for Flo, their history together. Flo has built something unique, kind of 1-of-1 here in Minnesota, and I’m excited to see him use Gink and kind of where that takes us.”

Flores and Van Ginkel both arrived in Miami in 2019 and worked well together for three seasons before the coach’s firing. The linebacker’s 2020 and 2021 campaigns were some of his best, as he recorded 119 tackles (16 for a loss), 30 quarterback hits, 11 passes defensed, 9.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery (a 78-yard scoop and score).

Van Ginkel will likely be lined up all over the front in Flores’ scheme, allowing him to confuse opposing quarterbacks and offensive linemen to get pressure and potentially force some mistakes.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins have replaced him with veteran linebacker Shaq Barrett, who may be a more proven pass-rusher, but he definitely doesn’t have the versatility that Van Ginkel brought.

Contract terms for OLB Andrew Van Ginkel have been released

The Minnesota Vikings signed OLB Andrew Van Ginkel to a very team friendly contract with a 2024 salary cap hit of $3.4 million

The Minnesota Vikings made a lot of free-agent signings during the first wave of free agency. Arguably my favorite one of them was outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel.

After playing with Brian Flores for three seasons, Van Ginkel had a breakout with the Miami Dolphins. He signed a two-year, $20 million contract with the Vikings and the terms of the contract were disclosed by The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling. The deal is structured like this:

  • $7 million signing bonus spread across five years
  • 4 void years are on the deal
  • $1.78 million base salary in 2024 fully guaranteed
  • $10.78 million base salary in 2025 ($1 million fully guaranteed, $3 million more for injury only. That injury guarantee vests on third day of 2025 league year.)
  • Per game roster bonuses of $170k in 2024 and 2025
  • $50k workout bonuses in 2024 and 2025.
  • 2024 cap hit: $3.4 million
  • 2025 cap hit: $12.4 million

The Vikings adding void years to Van Ginkel’s deal signals a want to keep him around long term and also ease the cap hit for 2024 to make the math work out better.

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Former Wisconsin linebacker gets big payday with Minnesota Vikings

Former Wisconsin linebacker gets big payday with Minnesota Vikings

Former Wisconsin linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel agreed to a 2-year, $20 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings on Monday afternoon.

The five-year veteran was a 5th-round pick of the Dolphins back in 2019. He’s spent his entire career in Miami thus far, serving as a significant part of the Dolphins’ defense since the 2020 season.

Related: Braelon Allen gives his all-time Wisconsin running back Mount Rushmore

The former Badger is off a stellar 2023 campaign which included 69 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 19 quarterback hits, one interception and one fumble recovery.

Van Ginkel played at Wisconsin in 2017 and 2018 after transferring from Iowa Western. While he recorded 98 tackles and 12.0 sacks in two years as a Badger, no play was more memorable than his pick-six off Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett in the 2017 Big Ten Championship Game.

He now gets job security and an impressive contract with a Minnesota team desperately looking for defensive improvements.

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Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel add serious spice to Brian Flores’ Vikings blitzes

Brian Flores’ blitz-happy Vikings defense got two major pieces for the future in edge-rushers Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel.

If there’s one thing you know about Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, it’s that he’s going to bring more defenders after the quarterback than just about anybody else in the league. Last season, the Vikings ranked first in the NFL with a blitz rate of 51.5%, though their pressure rate of 21.9% was far more middle of the pack.

So, while it’s highly likely that star edge-rusher Danielle Hunter will be on the move in free agency, the Vikings reinforced their edges with two highly interesting pass-rushers. Minnesota agreed to terms with former Texans defender Jonathan Greenard, and also with former Dolphins defender Andrew Van Ginkel. Van Ginkel was selected by the Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2019 draft out of Wisconsin, and as Flores was Miami’s head coach from 2019-2021, there’s some familiarity there.

Greenard played in a Houston Texans defense in which blitzing was hardly the order of the day — Houston blitzed on just 21% of their snaps last season — but when Greenard was involved in some sort of extra pressure, he was able to make the most of it.

As for Van Ginkel, who also had 53 pressures last season, a full 32 came on some kind of blitz, and he was more than happy to be an Agent of Chaos when that happened.

So, while he may lose Hunter in free agency, Flores has two new pieces to his ornate defense who can really get things done.