Patrick Jones is Getting Closer to Being Minnesota’s EDGE3
K. Joudry
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Patrick Jones II was a third-round pick by the Vikings. He played his college ball in Pittsburgh, piling up 17.5 sacks and 24 TFLs in his final two seasons. The 6’4, 261 pound defensive end ran a 4.85 forty and put up 22 reps on the bench press before the draft. Minnesota was able to choose him due to the Yannick Ngakoue trade with the Ravens, a move that brought the 90th pick to the Vikings.
As a rookie, Jones’ on-field contributions were modest. He had 7 tackles in his 9 games played. He didn’t receive any starts. All together, he played 99 snaps on defense and 4 on special teams. PFF gave him a 43.0 grade.
From what I can gather, many fans are feeling optimistic about Patrick Jones heading into the 2022 season. After all, he was taken in the third, suggesting he has the potential to be a strong contributor in the NFL. Moreover, Ed Donatell’s scheme may help the young edge rusher take positive steps in his development.
Recent discussion of the 49ers/Vikings practices noted that Jones got home for a couple sacks. This is after being credited with getting 5 pressures in the Raiders game. A recent piece on Purple PTSD also praised Jones for his abilities as a run defender.
In many ways, training camp and the preseason are about correcting failure and building on success. Identify shortcomings and then make an earnest effort to fix them. Identify areas where one is thriving and then make an earnest effort to keep replicating that success. In other words, it’s a good thing that Jones is putting together some strong practice reps following the Las Vegas game.
Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith are the team’s top two edge rushers. Some good moments from Patrick Jones aren’t going to change that reality. However, the team needs someone to be the EDGE3. D.J. Wonnum was likely the leader for the job coming into camp; he may still be given that he has more experience and had 8 sacks last season. Some continued excellence from Jones may be enough to leapfrog Wonnum.
Very few teams can succeed without getting contributions from depth players. Football is a physical game, meaning players need to rest and (at times) recover from injuries. It’s certainly easy to focus the majority of our attention on the starters, but the preaseason offers a good reminder about the importance of the backups.
If things continue on their current trajectory, Patrick Jones can be a central part of Minnesota’s defense.
Purple PTSD: Is it Patrick Jones Time?
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