Note: This article originally appeared on our sister site, purplePTSD.com.
The main downfall of the Minnesota Vikings’ 2020 season was the lack of haste in the pass. It was an unconventional display for a defensive front powered by Mike Zimmer – Ifeadi Odenigbo, Shamar Stephen, Jaleel Johnson and Jalyn Holmes. There is a reasonable chance that None of these four men will start in 2021. It is not yet a lock, but it is palpable that the line will be completely refurbished.
Zimmer’s defense – one that was the best in the NFL just three years earlier – was the fourthworst in the league during the pandemic season. As a 2020 analogy on the opposite side of the ball, consider the 2020 Green Bay Packers attack led by Aaron Rodgers (1st in the NFL) against the 2020 Cincinnati Bengals attack backed by Ryan Finley (29º in the NFL). This is the type of statistical variation on display between the 2017 and 2020 Vikings defenses.
Fortunately, Zimmer is a defense technician before God and the country, so there shouldn’t be a man in the NFL better equipped to restore the respectability of Minnesota defense than he is. If Zimmer cannot handle the task, he will probably be looking for work in 2022. This is not an endorsement by PurplePTSD to fire Zimmer, but the 64-year-old needs a profitable season to get his buttocks off the hot seat.
There is a way to reenergize defense. General manager Rick Spielman and his friend Zimmer will not start from scratch. The injuries largely derailed the year 2020, and reserve players tasked with filling the holes in the list were not capable collectively. Some did well as substitutes, but the appearances of Danielle Hunter, Michael Pierce, Anthony Barr and Mike Hughes were missed.
It all starts in advance, and it is here that 2020 to 2021 can be a simple tale of poverty to wealth.
The return of the king
Vikings only need Danielle Hunter back on the defensive end to find a heartbeat. He creates pandemonium at the start of every move and no one – at all – did it for the Vikings in 2020. His body simply on the football field in Week 1 will reinforce the defense.
Despite losing an entire NFL season last year, Hunter ranks 10thº all the time in bags by a player throughout his 26-year season. He was the best ever in the 25-year metric and managed to stay in the Top 10 in this parameter, despite a scary next injury in 2020.
Hunter is a leader, a force, a defender tyrant and an essential worker for the Vikings. Assuming he returns with premeditated vengeance, Hunter returning to the 2021 Vikings is colossal.
Reinstalling real nose equipment
Linval Joseph – a player likely to be released by the Los Angeles Chargers soon – left Minnesota at about this time last year. His replacement is called Michael Pierce, a 2020 free agent acquisition of the Baltimore Ravens.
But Pierce did not play in 2020. He had reservations about participating in the pandemic season due to asthma. So when Pierce joins the Vikings of Week 1, he will be a new face – and welcome. His stature is eerily similar to that of his predecessor, Joseph. Pierce is a hefty obstacle and can rush the quarterback here and there.
God, Vikings always need this.
At the height of his powers in 2018, Pierce captured a 90.8 Focus on professional football grade. To this end, the Vikings front office says “yes, please”. The return of a huge nose is a must. Shamar Stephen was decent during his reservist job for Pierce – but Stephen is not a big hitman.
Use Free Agency for Pass-Rushing 3DT
And that’s where everything gets interesting.
Minnesota could stick with organic solutions at the point of 3 techniques. That is – have hope Jaleel Johnson, Armon Watts or James Lynch is the real deal. In fact, it is a real possibility that one or some of these men will be tested if Spielman cannot find an affordable 3DT with his small free agency budget.
But if he wants a new player with 3 techniques – they are out there. Between Kawann Short, Geno Atkins, Shelby Harris, Ndamukong Suh, Jurrell Casey, Sheldon Rankins and Malik Johnson, Spielman has many names to explore at the free agency. Not all of these players will arrive in small businesses, but there is a litany of 3DTs to behold.
If the free agency is impolite to the Vikings at 3DT, several fictional and reliable drafts send Christian Barmore, from Alabama, to the Vikings in the 14th overall position. Call it a contingency plan.
RDE draft
Since it is “easier” to find a decent 3-in-a-go technique than a defensive end, Minnesota will likely turn to the draft for the long-awaited replacement for Everson Griffen. In the referred 14º slot, names like Kwity Paye and Gregory Rousseau revolve around recruitment speculation. Any man would mix Best available player and Need for staff sketching philosophies.
We will know in March if the RDE is on the agenda for the draft. If Minnesota finds a decent defensive tackle at the free agency, choice number 14 is likely to be an EDGE rusher. Then the line will look like: RDE – Paye / Rousseau, NT – Pierce, DT: FA Guy, LDE: Hunter.
