Tag: Ivan Pace Jr.

Texans vs. Vikings: Three key players out for Minnesota in Week 3

Three key Minnesota Vikings are out for Sunday’s matchup against the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium.

While the Houston Texans must handle Minnesota Vikings All-Pro receiver Justin Jefferson, they won’t have to take on his running mate.

On top of that, two key defensive players won’t suit up for Sunday’s game on Minnesota’s side due to injury.

The Vikings ruled receiver Jordan Addison, edge rusher Dallas Turner and linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. out for Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium. Addison and Turner didn’t practice all week, while Pace was limited entering Friday’s walk-throughs.

Addison, a former first-round pick out of USC, left early in the Week 1 win over the New York Giants due to an ankle injury. He didn’t play last Sunday in a 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

When asked about Addison’s status, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell noted that he made some good progress this week.

“Not all the way to the point where we could be 100 percent confident he wouldn’t have a setback of any kind,” O’Connell told reporters. “Ultimately the most important thing is over the long term of this season getting him back to a place where he’s ready to rock and roll.”

Turner, a former teammate of Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. at Alabama, left early in Sunday’s win because of a knee issue. Over his first two weeks, Turner has totaled five tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss.

Pace, who impressed last season as an undrafted free agent from Cincinnati, has recorded 15 tackles in two starts. He’s been reportedly dealing with a quad injury and was limited throughout the week.

Jalen Nailor is expected to fill the void as the No. 2 target opposite Jefferson.  Edge rusher Pat Jones II will likely see an increased role in place of Turner opposite former Texans defensive end Jonathan Greenard.

As for Pace, former Houston linebacker Blake Cashman likely takes over as the voice of the defense while Brian Asamoah and Kamu Grugier-Hill split reps in his spot.

In place of Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon, the Texans plan to have an increased role for Cam Akers. Vikings fans should remember the former second-round pick since he played six games in Minneapolis last season before suffering a torn Achilles in early November.

After a promising preseason, Akers took over the No. 3 RB role entering the regular season. Last week when Mixon left with an ankle injury, he became the feature back, totaling 32 yards on seven carries.

Akers told reporters earlier this week he’s always waiting for a moment to present itself.”

You don’t got to get ready when you stay ready,” Akers said. “I’ve been preparing for this moment, and I’m ready for it. I’m ready to take advantage.”

Kickoff from U.S. Bank Stadium is scheduled for noon CT.

The Texans are looking for their first 3-0 start since 2012 and their first victory over Minnesota in franchise history.

Ivan Pace Jr. on game against Giants: ‘It ain’t even gonna be no matchup’

Ivan Pace Jr. overcame the odds last season to go from a UDFA from the 2023 NFL draft cycle to being on the 53-man roster.

Ivan Pace Jr. overcame the odds last season to go from UDFA to a member of the Minnesota Vikings’ 53-man roster. He made plays on special teams and was part of a linebacker rotation that he could thrive in.

Fast forward to 2024, and Pace is using that momentum to be the face of the defense.

One way he has found himself as the center of attention is by being in the race for the green dot on defense with Blake Cashman. And Pace is exuding confidence to lift up the entire team before their first game of the year.

When asked about the matchup against the New York Giants by Darren Wolfson of ABC5, he responded bluntly.

“We ’bout to go crazy, man,” he said. “It ain’t even gonna be no matchup.”

The Vikings are a betting favorite, but barely. This game is going to be a lot closer than many people expect, so providing bulletin board material may not be in Pace and his team’s best interest.

On the flip side, that confidence can also make the difference the Vikings may need to get over the hump against the Giants. Either way, it will be a chippy game and could come down to one possession.

Vikings’ Ivan Pace Jr. laughs at Giants: ‘Ain’t even going to be no matchup’

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. thinks the New York Giants are a complete joke: “Ain’t even going to be no matchup.”

This Sunday, the New York Giants open their season when they host the Minnesota Vikings at MetLife Stadium. The Giants are coming off of a tumultuous 2023 season that led to a ton of offseason adjustments, especially on offense.

The Vikings’ 2023 season wasn’t much better than the Giants’ and they’ve made their own adjustments. Vikings linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. is confident in the players they have now and believes they won’t have an issue with the Giants’ revamped offense.

“Oh, we about to go crazy, man. Ain’t even going to be no matchup. We’re about to go crazy on them, but it’s going to be cool,” Pace said from the locker room.

Then he was reminded that the Giants have guys like Daniel Jones, Devin Singletary, and Malik Nabers.

“Yeah, they look good. They look good, but I know our defense. I know we got it in this locker room, so we’re going to be good,” he said.

Pace is entering his second season in the NFL. Last season he recorded 101 tackles (63 solo), 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, one interception, and two passes defensed.

However, the Vikings ranked 23rd in yards allowed in 2023 and had an overall middling defense. We’ll see what impact the offseason adjustments have had when the teams hit the field on Sunday.

The Giants and Vikings kick off at 1:00 p.m. EDT.

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Ivan Pace Jr. looks ‘even more explosive’ than he did last year

The Vikings’ second-year LB appears to be even more explosive in ’24.

The Minnesota Vikings hit the jackpot last season when linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. went undrafted, and the Vikings were able to scoop him up as an undrafted free agent.

Pace Jr. would play a huge role in Brian Flores’ defense and was one of the better Vikings during his rookie campaign. He has been on record stating he will be wearing the green dot again this year and will communicate with the defense.

Could the year two linebacker be in store for an even bigger season? According to The Athletic’s Alec Lewis, Pace Jr. looks “even more explosive” this preseason than he did last year.

Lewis noted on Thursday that Pace Jr. picked apart the Cleveland Browns’ offense during the joint practice. The Cincinnati (OH) native recovered a fumble and intercepted Deshaun Watson, and Lewis said Pace Jr. “was essentially the football version of everything everywhere all at once.”

The Vikings signed former Texans’ linebacker Blake Cashman this offseason to pair alongside Pace Jr. Minnesota could quietly have an elite linebacker duo in ’24.

Vikings LB Ivan Pace Jr. confirms he will wear the green dot once again

The second-year linebacker confirmed he would be wearing the green dot on Sundays.

Second-year linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. has had a terrific story thus far in his young NFL career. He was a star at the University of Cincinnati in college but went undrafted because teams were concerned with his size and ability to play at the next level. The Vikings brought Pace Jr. in on a UDFA contract, and he turned out to be one of the better linebackers in the league.

When Jordan Hicks went down last year, the coaching staff turned to Pace Jr. to lean on. They gave him the green dot — the speaker to hear what plays are being called to relay to the rest of the team — which shows how much trust they had in the then-rookie.

Appearing in a segment on the Up & Adams show hosted by Kay Adams, Pace Jr. confirmed he would once again wear the green dot entering his sophomore year.

“I believe so,” said Pace Jr. “I believe so. We lost [Jordan] Hicks and when he went down last year, I took over and they gave me that trust that they had. I believe now that he’s gone, I’m definitely going to wear the green dot this coming season.”

It doesn’t happen often with UDFAs, but it shows that if you keep your head down and work hard, the sky is the limit. It is also a credit to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his staff for finding Pace Jr. as he is shaping up to be a diamond in the rough of his draft class.

ESPN not high on the Minnesota Vikings’ young talent heading into 2024

In his look at each teams’ talent under 25, ESPN analyst Aaron Schatz has the Minnesota Vikings at 24th, down six spots from the 2023 team.

If you want to have sustained success in the NFL, the best way to do it is with young talent. It’s great to go out and pick up high-quality free agents on the market, but if you want to be able to guarantee consistent success, the free agent market should be a supplement, not the backbone of your team.

Largely, that means building your team through the NFL draft, something the Minnesota Vikings have been trying to do over the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah tenure — with mixed success. While some are high on the potential of incoming rookies, such as J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner, others- like ESPN, for example- aren’t as high on the young talent the Vikings general manager has been able to amass.

ESPN data analyst Aaron Schatz recently took a deep dive into the rosters of each team to determine which ones are best set up for success with their young talent. Schatz took many factors into account, including starts and snaps by players under 25, age-adjusted quality of play, value and lengths of contracts, and many other factors. Where he has the Vikings may surprise some of the more optimistic fans out there.

Last season, the Vikings came in at number 18 on this list, but this year, they slide down six spots to 24. The slide comes in part because players like Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw “graduated” out of consideration for the list.

The other key factor is simply the lack of high-end talent that qualifies. Schatz has the qualifying “blue-chip” players for the Vikings: last year’s rookie standout Jordan Addison and McCarthy, who will likely start the season behind Sam Darnold on the depth chart.

As Schatz points out, the only other player the Vikings have who qualifies for the list and started more than one game for the team is Ivan Pace, Jr. Pace has been lavished with praise this offseason for his breakout rookie season as an undrafted free agent, but that fact underscores just how much work is left to do to get fresh, young talent on the roster.

Vikings have a top-10 linebacker room according to PFF

Led by an UDFA in 2023, the Vikings have one of the better linebacker rooms in the NFL heading into the 2024 season.

It’s crazy to think how much better Minnesota fans can view the Vikings linebackers with the signing of a UDFA. Last season, Minnesota stole the draft by signing Cincinnati linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. to a UDFA contract. Pace Jr. went on to start for Minnesota and become one of the best young linebackers in the game.

Led by Pace Jr., Pro Football Focus ranked all 32 linebacker rooms in the NFL, and the Vikings have the 10th-best room.

Undrafted free agent Ivan Pace Jr. was one of the best stories of the 2023 season after winning a starting role in the Vikings’ defense and earning a 77.7 PFF coverage grade. They are pairing him with Blake Cashman this season, with the former fifth-round pick from the 2019 NFL Draft coming off a career year in 2023 (82.1 PFF grade).

Pace Jr. and Cashman will form a younger but formidable presence as linebackers for Brian Flores and the Vikings. Minnesota also signed Andrew Van Ginkel, but he is more of an Edge player. He is listed as a linebacker in some places. Brian Asamoah II was supposed to become the next starting linebacker for the Vikings, but he has yet to come into his own fully. He’s not a terrible backup option for the Minnesota defense, though.

Past Pace Jr., Cashman, and Asamoah II, the Vikings linebacker depth is not great. There are some players who do not have much experience, and that could be a place Minnesota looks toward filling in free agency if an injury would occur.

Vikings LB Ivan Pace Jr. makes unique list gathered by PFF

The likelihood of finding a valuable UDFA is low, but it does happen every year, 2023 was the Viking’s year when they landed Ivan Pace Jr.

The likelihood of finding a valuable UDFA is low, but it does happen every year, 2023 was the Viking’s year when they landed Ivan Pace Jr. Now, the rest of the NFL is taking its turn in recognizing the talented linebacker and what he brings to the table.

Pro Football Focus is compiling all sorts of lists and rankings during the offseason, their latest was rather unique. The renowned football organization decided to build an All-2000’s team made up of players born in the year 2000 or later.

Yes, it made us feel old, too.

Only one Viking made the list, linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. PFF, mentioned the high grade he earned and provided some other sound reasoning for his inclusion.

“(Ivan) Pace burst onto the scene in 2023 as an undrafted free agent. He picked up five total pressures on 15 pass-rushing snaps over the first two weeks and remained an asset as a pass rusher throughout his rookie campaign, as his 109 pass-rushing snaps ranked sixth among linebackers.”

Pace Jr. is expected to see his role expand much more in 2024. Brian Flores and the rest of his defensive staff came in last year and made an immediate impact. The emergence of the undrafted linebacker played a role in that, and the team recognizes that.

2024 will be a big year for Ivan Pace Jr., one way or another.

 

Blake Cashman, Ivan Pace Jr. ranked as top linebackers by PFF ahead of 2024 season

Pro Football Focus named the Vikings’ linebacker duo among the top 32 linebackers in the NFL.

Entering the 2024 season, the Vikings lost veteran Jordan Hicks in free agency but got arguably better at the position when they signed Blake Cashman to pair with Ivan Pace Jr.

Both Cashman and Pace had great years in 2023. Cashman, as a Texan, had a career-high 106 tackles. Pace, an undrafted free agent, also had a terrific rookie season. He didn’t begin the season as a starter but finished with 102 tackles.

It’s not surprising that both are considered to be among the league’s top 32 linebackers. Pro Football Focus ranked the top LBs in the NFL entering the season, and both made the list.

Pace was ranked as the No. 23 linebacker in the league.

The undrafted Pace has already proven that he deserved to have heard his name called in 2023, with his ability as a blitzer immediately translating at the NFL level. He finished his rookie season with a 78.0 PFF pass-rush grade after registering 15 quarterback pressures from 109 pass-rushing snaps.

Cashman was ranked No. 29.

Cashman turned a career year with the Texans into a free-agent deal with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. He faded as the 2023 season went on, but his 82.1 PFF overall grade ranked eighth at the position.

 

Ivan Pace Jr. set to earn larger role heading into the new season

Ivan Pace Jr. had a special season after making the roster as a UDFA, but he wants more in 2024.

Every once in a while, an undrafted free agent joins a team and becomes a difference-maker. In 2023, the Vikings found one of them. Ivan Pace Jr. had a special season after making the roster as a UDFA, but he wants more in 2024.

Best part? He is ready to earn that more, starting with team workouts this Summer.

The former Miami Redhawk displayed the intelligence needed to make plays on special teams while also demonstrating the unique ability to be in the right place at the right time to make big plays down the stretch of games. According to Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune, he wants to expand his role by expanding his coverage ability.

Having sideline-to-sideline ability as a linebacker is vital to finding a sustained role on any defense. That skill to cover more ground and make more plays is what Ivan Pace Jr. hopes to accomplish in 2024. If he can do that, he will give the Vikings a formidable linebacker group with Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman.