Tag: DJ Wonnum

Cowboys Free Agency Targets: 8 defenders who played for Zimmer, staff

When coaches find new digs, they often bring in former players to help lead in the new system. Here are some fun ideas for the Cowboys to consider as the league year approaches. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys have a brand new defensive staff, and with that they will have the opportunity to try and shore up the one issue the unit had in 2023; variance. The Dallas Cowboys had a ton of great performances under Dan Quinn over the last three seasons. Twice the led the NFL in turnovers and two different defensive backs had all-time great NFL seasons under Quinn. Trevon Diggs had the most interceptions in a single season in over 40 years in 2011 and DaRon Bland set the all-time Pick-6 record in 2023. But there were enough performances where the defense didn’t show up, most notably the wild-card loss to the upstart Green Bay Packers, that showed the unit was not all it was cracked up to be.

Now, Mike Zimmer is in charge and while the front office may not rain down on him with draft picks to improve his unit in Year 1, there’s probably a sizable free agent haul awaiting him and his new staff. Often times, coaches like to bring in players who are familiar with their systems and who they know they can trust as bridges to the other veterans they are inheriting.

Zimmer worked for Cincinnati as their DC from 2008 through 2013 and was the head coach of Minnesota from 2014 through 2021. Between his former players and those who suited up for new DL coach Jeff Zgonina (Washington 2020-2023, San Francisco 2017-2018) or run-defense coordinator Paul Guenther (Cincinnati DC 2014-2017, Oakland LB coach 2018-2020) there are a handful of current free agents who might be interested in reunions.

Here are the six names, and where they rank on PFF’s list of top 200 free agents heading into 2024. In addition, there are two players who are currently under contract but could be released before the new league year kicks in who would be under consideration.

Good, bad and ugly from Vikings 3-0 win vs. Raiders

After yet another ugly performance, and a change at quarterback, Chris Spooner takes a look at the good, bad and ugly from the Vikings 3-0 win against the Las Vegas Raiders.

A win is a win. It doesn’t matter how ugly the win is, all that matters for the Minnesota Vikings is that they secured the win on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders and moved to 7-6 on the season. They got some help on Sunday, too, as the Detroit Lions were upset by the Chicago Bears.

With four games remaining, and two games against the aforementioned Lions, the Vikings now find themselves sitting just two games back in the race for the NFC North title, while also firmly in the NFC Wild Card race thanks to a loss by the Seattle Seahawks against the San Francisco 49ers.

Schedule-wise, Sunday went about as well for the Vikings as it could have. On the field it was a completely different story. The game was about as ugly as it could possibly be, with neither team scoring until just under the two-minute mark in the fourth quarter.

Ultimately, the Vikings were able to make one more play than the Raiders and escape with a 3-0 win. Let’s take a look at the good, bad and ugly from this performance.

4 Things to Watch Heading Into Week 2 vs San Francisco

The most important game of the preseason is on Saturday

The second week of the preseason is arguably the most important.

Much like week three used to be before the 17th game was added last year, week two is treated like a dress rehearsal. This game has some game planning involved and gives players and teams a true game week experience.

Usually, the starters will play a significant amount of time. Per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert, that might not be the case for the Vikings having spent two days facing the 49ers in joint practices.

If they don’t play much on Saturday, it will be great for the young players to get some extra reps in. With the game not meaning anything from a record standpoint, the score is less important than the performance of players and units.

Here are four things that you need to be watching out for during Saturday’s game.

 

Winners and Losers from Vikings preseason loss to Raiders

Winners and losers from the Vikings’ preseason opener.

The Minnesota Vikings just completed their first preseason game, a 26-20 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday night.

While you want to win preseason games, the most important part of them is seeing growth and development from your young players. For the Vikings, they also are using this time to install a new scheme on both sides of the football.

Within the game, there were definite winners and losers based on their performances in the matchup.

NFL.com says pass-rushing decision is biggest remaining need for Vikings

The big question is who will start opposite of Danielle Hunter in 2021.

The Vikings have done a nice job of addressing positions of need. The team drafted two offensive linemen in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. Along with that, the team also drafted defensive Patrick Jones in the third-round of the draft.

In free agency, the team did a nice job of bringing in talent for the defensive back group.

So, what’s next?

Marc Sessler over at NFL.com said that ‘pinpoint pass-rushing pecking order’ is the biggest need for the Vikings to close out the offseason, assuming the team doesn’t add another defensive end in free agency.

Here’s what Sessler wrote about the Vikings:

Only four teams logged fewer sacks than Minnesota’s 23 from a season ago. Losing Danielle Hunter for the year to neck surgery — in combo with trading away Yannick Ngakoue — was apocalyptic. Hunter is back in the fold after whispers of the chiseled pass rusher demanding a lucrative new deal died down. The question is who will start across from him. A platoon (Stephen Weatherly, D.J. Wonnum, Jalyn Holmes and rookie Patrick Jones II) feels logical, but defensive line guru Andre Patterson sounds especially high on fourth-rounder Janarius Robinson, saying: “I always find that guy in the draft where I say, man, I’d love to get my hands on this kid, and he’s the guy.“

The Vikings had just 23 sacks last season, a mark that ranked 28th in the NFL. The previous year, with a healthy Hunter, the Vikings had 48 sacks.

The hope is that with Hunter’s return, and the emergence of one of the young prospects expected to start opposite of him, will boost those numbers. The question, though, is who that player will be.