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Here are some unsung heroes of the Vikings defense:
Minnesota revamped its defense this offseason by landing some big-ticket free agents.
The Vikings signed players like DT Dalvin Tomlinson and CB Patrick Peterson. Those two grabbed the headlines in the offseason. Both have shown why at various points this season.
But what about the lesser-praised members of the Vikings defense? Here are some unsung heroes from that side of the ball:
Here are some Vikings rookies ranked in order of their importance for the 2020 NFL season.
After the Vikings saw key contributors from past seasons leave the team, Minnesota underwent a retooling of its roster.
The Vikings replaced many of the veterans with rookies who will have to adjust to the NFL level without the benefit of a conventional offseason.
Vikings Wire went about ranking six rookies in terms of how important they are to the team’s success in 2020. This won’t be a list that just goes in order of draft position. However, the Vikings drafted positional needs early, so expect to see high picks high up on the list.
There are some interesting late-round rookies and undrafted free agents who might become big contributors for the Vikings, though.
Here is the Vikings rookie class, ranked in order of importance for next season:
With Vikings DT Michael Pierce reportedly opting out of the 2020 season, here are some possible scenarios for the Vikings interior defensive line.
Minnesota defensive tackle Michael Pierce, arguably the biggest free agent signing for the Vikings this offseason, will reportedly opt out of the 2020 season.
That leaves a hole that Pierce was going to presumably fill after Linval Joseph left in free agency.
So the nose tackle spot on the Vikings defense is now open. Pierce is a big loss for 2020, but Minnesota still has some options on the interior of the defensive line.
Operating on the assumption that the NFL season is to take place in 2020, here are some personnel pairings that Minnesota can go with at defensive tackle now that Pierce reportedly isn’t playing:
Minnesota will have new faces vying for key positions on the team. Which training camp battle are you most looking forward to?
Yes, yes, there are training camp battles every year across the NFL. But for the Vikings, this year is different.
This is a new-look Vikings team after a mass exodus in free agency, and a big haul of rookie talent.
Younger players from previous seasons will have to step up, and first-year players could become starters in what’s gearing up to be an incredibly unconventional NFL season.
The Vikings will have at least two new starters on offense after the team traded Stefon Diggs and terminated the contract of Josh Kline.
On defense, Minnesota will have at least four new starters after Everson Griffen, Trae Waynes, Xavier Rhodes and Linval Joseph all left the team. It should be said that Griffen has yet to sign with a different NFL team.
As training camp starts up for the whole roster on July 28, there are plenty of positions up for grabs.
Here are the most enticing battles for spots next season:
Could Lynch compete for a starting spot?
Michael Renner over at Pro Football Focus listed some of his favorite landing spots for Day 3 draft picks from the 2020 NFL Draft.
The Vikings had a lot, like a lot a lot, of picks on Day 3 of the draft. Renner’s favorite pick Day 3 from Minnesota came when the Vikings drafted Baylor defensive tackle James Lynch with the 130th overall pick.
Here’s what Renner wrote about the pick:
The 3-tech position for the Vikings was a barren wasteland in 2019. Starter Shamar Stephen was one of the most ineffective defensive linemen in the entire NFL and managed all of six pressures on 350 pass-rushing snaps. Conversely, Lynch led all of college football with 70 pressures on 501 pass-rushing snaps for Baylor last season. The Vikings didn’t add anyone else to address the position this offseason, meaning the path looks wide open for Lynch to take the job.
Lynch should very much be in the running to start at defensive tackle for this team, which probably says more about Stephen than it does Lynch, but finding a starter on the third day of a draft is a very difficult thing to do.
You can look at Renner’s other favorite Day 3 picks here.
Pro Football Focus predicted the Vikings starters for 2020, and had some interesting choices on both sides of the ball.
Ezra Cleveland was a tackle for Boise State, but Pro Football Focus picked Cleveland to star elsewhere on the offensive line.
Cleveland was the starting left guard in PFF’s list of Vikings starters for 2020. A lot of people, myself included, thought Cleveland could possibly start at left tackle, with Riley Reiff moving to guard.
Here’s what Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman said after Cleveland was drafted by the team:
“I talked to our coaches, and they see him as being a possible position flexibility guy, a left tackle, right tackle, even a potential guard if we need to, so we’ll figure that out.”
So it’s not crazy to think that Cleveland could start at left guard for the Vikings in 2020.
Pro Football Focus also went with an interesting choice on the defensive line. The outlet predicted that James Lynch will start at defensive tackle for the Vikings. Lynch, a defensive lineman out of Baylor, was drafted by the Vikings in fourth round.
PFF also thought cornerback Cameron Dantzler would start for the Vikings. However, it listed Holton Hill as a name to watch.
In 2019, Lynch had 13.5 sacks with Baylor.
The Vikings drafted Baylor defensive tackle James Lynch in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Lynch will likely get an opportunity to play early, perhaps competing with Shamar Stephen for reps.
In 2019, Lynch had 13.5 sacks. The Vikings haven’t had an interior player who was great at rushing the passer since the Kevin Williams days.
Another player who knows a thing or two about rushing the passer: John Randle.
The former Viking and Hall of Famer worked with Lynch at the 2020 NFL Combine in Indianapolis and came away impressed.
“I like his temper. I think he’s going to fit in great in the NFL, especially with the Vikings system,” Randle said via Vikings.com. “I didn’t know he’d be coming to Minnesota, but I like this guy. There’s something about this guy.”
“I kind of went crazy because that was one of the teams that, really the team that I was excited to go to,” Lynch said.
James Lynch, a defensive tackle out of Baylor, said he told his agent at the combine that Minnesota was a team he wanted to go to.
In the fourth round, Lynch got a team he wanted. He ended up getting drafted by the Vikings at No. 130 overall.
“Whenever Minnesota came on the clock, I got that call and obviously I kind of went crazy because that was one of the teams that, really the team that I was excited to go to,” Lynch told KMSP-TV. “I told my agent that as soon as I met with them at the combine.”
Now, Lynch has a chance to compete for a spot on the Vikings’ interior defensive line. Linval Joseph left in the offseason, and the team added Michael Pierce in free agency, but Minnesota has looked inconsistent at that position group at times, so I could see them playing a reserve like Lynch.
Next Gen Stats considers Vikings draftees James Lynch, Kenny Willekes to be analytics standouts.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Vikings got good value in James Lynch and Kenny Willekes on Day three of the NFL Draft.
Lynch, a pass-rushing defensive tackle out of Baylor, along with Willekes, a Michigan State defensive end who’s adept at getting into the backfield, were listed among Next Gen Stats’ “Day 3 Hidden Gems.”
The outlet said to “watch out for these eleven players, who all possess intriguing traits as day 3 selections” when listing Lynch and Willekes among other players. It seems like both Lynch and Willekes had very good numbers for where they were drafted.
2020 #NFLDraft Day 3 Hidden Gems
Who are the top prospects still available based on the results of the Next Gen Stats draft model? Watch out for these eleven players, who all possess intriguing traits as day 3 selections. pic.twitter.com/If03FffjG6
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) April 25, 2020
Lynch had 13.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss for Baylor in 2019. Willekes had 10.5 sacks and 16 tackles for a loss with Michigan State in his final collegiate season.
If those two pan out, it would be a big boost for the Vikings, considering the team saw big departures at both defensive tackle and defensive end in the offseason. Defensive tackle Linval Joseph signed with the Chargers. Reserve defensive end Stephen Weatherly left for the Panthers.
And Everson Griffen announced on Instagram that he would be leaving the Vikings. He has yet to sign with another team.
A new player on the interior of the defensive line. Please welcome James Lynch to the Minnesota Vikings!
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Minnesota added a run-stopping defensive tackle in free agency, and in the draft it went with a versatile player on the interior of the defensive line.
Minnesota drafted Baylor defensive tackle James Lynch in the fourth round, taking him at No. 130 overall. Lynch tallied 13.5 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss in 2019.
Defensive tackle Linval Joseph signed with the Chargers in free agency this offseason. However, the team added a solid candidate to replace him in former Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce, who signed with the Vikings in free agency.
Though the team returns a starter on the interior of the defensive line in Shamar Stephen, it would help to add another starting-caliber player at that position.
Pierce is a big-bodied defensive lineman who can clog up holes, and the Vikings already have Danielle Hunter, who is very good in pass rush. It seems like, compared to Pierce, Lynch adds a different dimension to the defensive line.
