After a rocky 2018 season in which Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen missed five games due to mental health (good job by him for getting help, by the way), he appears to be back, and better, in 2019.
In 2019, the 31-year-old three-time Pro Bowler has 36 tackles and seven sacks through 11 games. He’s on pace for 10 sacks, which would mark his fourth season with 10 or more sacks.
Chris Wesseling over at NFL.com ranked his top-10 Comeback Player candidates and Griffen ranked third.
Griffen has 58 quarterback disruptions, a mark that ranks second only to teammate Danielle Hunter, who has 71.
Per Pro Football Focus, Griffen ranks as the league’s 15th edge player with a grade of 84.6. That’s the best mark of his career and a 16.6-point improvement from last season.
With 73.5 career sacks, Griffen ranks fourth in team history and 12 behind Jared Allen for third.
Hunter, on the other hand, already has 48.5 career sacks, a mark that ranks 10th.