Tag: D.J. Wonnum

D.J. Wonnum fined for hit on Jordan Love

Wonnum became the fifth Minnesota Vikings player fined this season

The Minnesota Vikings’ defense got hit with another fine on Saturday afternoon. According to The Star Tribune’s Andrew Krammer, Vikings outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum was fined $16,282 for his sack of Jordan Love.

You can see the hit below in Krammer’s tweet.

The reason Wonnum was fined is likely due to how he lands on Love at the end of the play. That is something that the NFL has been adamant you can’t do. They added that to the roughing the passer penalty language a few years ago to help keep quarterbacks safer.

There are plenty of these penalties called throughout the course of the game. Some of them are a little egregious and don’t qualify to the rule, but this one should have been called on the field. Wonnum’s weight landed right on Love and that is something you cannot do.

Wonnum is the fifth Vikings player fined this season and the sixth overall fine.

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Stock up, stock down in Vikings Week 8 win vs. Packers

There are plenty of stocks rising and falling in the Vikings 24-10 win against the Green Bay Packers

The Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 24-10 to improve to 4-4 on the year. On the surface, this is exactly what the Vikings needed: a divisional win that puts Minnesota firmly in the playoff hunt.

But grim circumstances surrounding the conclusion of the contest make it tough to show much optimism for the rest of the 2023 season.

Even so, the game had plenty of stocks rise in a commanding win and a few that fell for varying circumstances.

WATCH all 16 Vikings touchdowns through 6 games

Before they play the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, relive all 16 Minnesota Vikings touchdowns through the first 6 weeks of the season

Through six games of the Minnesota Vikings 2023 season, they have found a way to find the end zone for a touchdown 16 times. That is 2.66 touchdowns per game.

The defense has found their way into the end zone multiple times as well, with D.J. Wonnum and Jordan Hicks finding the end zone. Interestingly enough, the Vikings won both games where the defense scored.

Five Vikings have multiple touchdowns on the season with Jordan Addison having four, Justin Jefferson having three and T.J. Hockenson, K.J. Osborn and Alexander Mattison having two. Josh Oliver is the only Vikings offensive player with a singular touchdown

With the Vikings playing on Monday Night Football against the San Francisco 49ers, relive all 16 touchdowns through the first six games with the all-22 view.

Vikings PFF grades on defense through 6 games

The Minnesota Vikings defense has some standouts and the Pro Football Focus grades showcase that

The Minnesota Vikings are a fascinating team.

Despite a 2-4 start, the Vikings have good underlying metrics and Pro Football Focus has the offensive line as one of the best units in the National Football League.

As we head into week seven, here are the PFF grades for each member of the Vikings defense.

The All-22: Breaking down all 3 Vikings touchdowns

We broke down all three of the Vikings touchdowns with the all-22

Going into week five, the Minnesota Vikings are sitting with a 1-3 record and two games behind the division leading Detroit Lions.

On Sunday, they beat the Carolina Panthers by a score of 21-13 with three touchdowns scored for the second-consecutive game.

Justin Jefferson didn’t have a touchdown in the first two weeks of the season, but he has exploded over the last two weeks with three touchdowns, including two against the Panthers.

Touchdowns themselves are inherently random in nature, which is why you can see droughts from star players over the course of weeks. When they do happen, understanding the why behind it can help predict how the Vikings will attack in the future.

The all-22 is the best way to look at how the Vikings scored on the Panthers and we broke down all three touchdowns.

WATCH D.J. Wonnum scoops and scores to help Minnesota take lead

The Vikings finally had a fumble bounce their way

One defensive touchdown deserves another. D.J. Wonnum’s scoop and score give the Minnesota Vikings the 14-13 lead in the late minutes of the third quarter.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young dropped back and scanned the field, not realizing that Brian Flores had sent yet another of his patented blitzes at him. By the time Young saw the 12-year veteran Harrison Smith in his face, it was too late. Smith delivered a massive hit to Young and this Carolina Panthers offense as the ball was jarred loose. Wonnum opportunistically scooped the ball with a convoy of Vikings to help escort him to the 51-yard score.

Young has been having a pretty good game up until this point, he’s gone 16-for-21 for 136 yards and has been decisive with his throws and pocket movements. However, the defense of the Vikings has made it difficult on the rookie. Hopefully, they can keep that same success.

Stay tuned with Vikings Wire for more live game updates.

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The Minnesota Vikings have a pass rush problem

The Minnesota Vikings loss to the Los Angeles Chargers exposed a major defensive problem for the Vikings.

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores built a very hyper-specific game plan to try and stop Justin Herbert.

Instead of dropping eight into coverage (like Flores did against Jalen Hurts), Flores decided to blitz Herbert.

A lot.

Flores wound up blitzing Hebert on 81.6% of his dropbacks. The figure is the highest since 2013 when Colin Kaepernick was blitzed on 87.5% of his dropbacks.

Despite Flores’ aggressive nature, Herbert wasn’t phased.

According to Pro Football Focus, Herbert completed 34 of his 40 attempts while blitzed for 317 yards and three touchdowns. His average depth of target on these throws was just 6.7 yards, signaling a specific approach to combating the pressure from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

The Vikings’ inability to create pressure when sending extra rushers is the unfortunate reality of the Vikings’ personnel.

When asked by the media if the Vikings have players who can win in one-on-one situations, Flores mentioned three players: Danielle Hunter, Marcus Davenport, and Ivan Pace, Jr.

Here’s the problem: Marcus Davenport is injured, and Ivan Pace is an off-ball linebacker.

The Vikings don’t have enough players who consistently win in pass-rush situations. As a result, cornerbacks are stressed to hold blocks even longer, and offenses can drive down the field without concern.

On the Chargers’ second drive, Justin Herbert and company drove 79 yards down the field on 12 plays and took close to six minutes off the clock. The Vikings tried everything to challenge Herbert, including sending multiple players and trying various stunts to get home.

However, the Vikings had no answer. Herbert dinked his way down the field, and all the Vikings could do was watch.

Here is a look at why some of the Vikings’ playcalls on that drive failed and if the problem(s) can be fixed.

5 players the Vikings could realistically trade after 0-3 start

Could the Vikings be sellers at the trade deadline? If they are, it won’t be to tank writes @TheRealForno

The Minnesota Vikings starting the season at 0-3 is the worst possible scenario. It’s especially bad when you consider that the Vikings have been in a position to potentially win all three games.

There are some fans and analysts who are going to say that the Vikings should tank for a top pick to select a quarterback.

Here’s the thing, that won’t happen and it won’t ever under Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. He doesn’t believe in a full-on tank.

What we don’t know is how he will handle a situation where the season is going poorly. Is Adofo-Mensah going to be comfortable enough to sell off pieces that won’t be here long-term to build up draft capital? That is the big question.

If he does, we need to eliminate the likes of Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter. Cousins has a no-trade clause and both could have futures with the team after this season.

With how the Vikings could potentially approach the trade deadline, it’s likely going to be players who are in the final year of their deal or likely won’t be returning next season.

If they continue to spiral and aren’t in a position to make the playoffs at the trade deadline, here are five players that could be moved by the Vikings. The salaries listed are what each player is set to make for the season and the savings would be prorated based on how many games are left when the player gets traded.

Early training camp thoughts: Purple Access

After the first day of Minnesota Vikings training camp practice, there is a lot to discuss, including the cornerback battle.

The first day of Minnesota Vikings training camp practice is in the books and there is a lot to discuss.

On the latest episode of Purple Access, hosts Judd Zulgad and Tyler Forness of Vikings Wire and Declan Goff discuss the biggest takeaways from the first day of practice.

All of that and more on the latest episode of Purple Access on the Purple Daily YouTube channel.

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Vikings state of the roster: Edge rusher

The Minnesota Vikings traded Za’Darius Smith and signed Marcus Davenport to replace him. Will the production be the same in 2023?

The 2023 season is inching closer and closer by the day and we here at Vikings Wire are previewing the season from every angle. Today, we continue profiling the Minnesota Vikings roster on the defensive side of the football.

We are currently writing player profiles on each Viking on the roster with projections for what their 2023 season could look like. How things look projecting forward is where the real intrigue lies.

Leading up to training camp, we will be looking at each position from a more in-depth perspective. Today, we will be looking at the edge rushers.