ESPN Analyst Names Vikings Pass-Rushers as the Best in the NFL
Josh Frey
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The Minnesota Vikings are hoping that their defense is far improved upon 2022 when they ranked 30th in points allowed, 31st in total yards allowed, 31st in passing yards allowed, 32nd in first downs allowed, 30th in penalties, and 32nd in penalty yardage.
One way of doing so will be by making sure their pass-rush is more consistent than it was last season. In 2022, the Vikings tied for 22nd in the league in sacks with the Los Angeles Rams. Both teams recorded 38 sacks. Minnesota’s pressure rate (per Pro-Football-Reference) of 19.5% was also 23rd in the league.
All that being said, there is some faith that the Vikings pass-rushers can not only be a good unit, but an elite one in 2023. ESPN analyst Mike Clay recently ranked all 32 teams in terms of their pass-rush groups, and his ranking placed the Vikings right at the top of the list.
Along with the list, Clay explained his placement of Minnesota, saying, “This league has some incredible duos…but the Vikings addition of Marcus Davenport gets them to the top.”
Particularly if the Vikings find a way to retain Za’Darius Smith for the 2023 season, there is a great chance that Minnesota’s pass-rushers truly could be one of the best groups in the league with the addition of Davenport. It gives them a truly fearsome trio in Davenport, Danielle Hunter, and Smith along with the rising prowess of young players like Patrick Jones II.
In 2022, Davenport was knocked for only recording half a sack, but that number doesn’t change that Davenport still recorded 34 pressures in those 15 games, per PFF, and has had 30+ in every season of his career. He also recorded 42 pressures and 9 sacks over just 11 games in 2021. He knows how to get to the quarterback when he’s healthy enough to play; the trouble has simply been staying healthy.
Additionally, the Vikings added one of the more coveted undrafted free agents this spring in Army EDGE Andre Carter II. Minnesota showed a clear confidence that he will be able to make the final 53-man roster by giving him a contract that guaranteed $300,000 in base salary and a $40,000 signing bonus.
Carter went undrafted for a number of reasons, but one of them likely was because his production fell off a cliff in 2022. This seemed largely due to added attention from opposing offensive lines and a midseason injury that forced him to miss two games. The injury went undisclosed, but he didn’t look like the same player for much of the closing stretch of the year. In all, over 10 games, he recorded 23 pressures and 4 sacks in 2022.
However, the Army pass rusher recorded one of the more dominant seasons in college football during 2021, recording 59 pressures and 15 sacks over the course of 13 games, per Pro Football Focus. His pass-rushing grade of 93.4 was tied for second in the FBS alongside Aidan Hutchinson, who went on to be the second overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Finally, the addition of Brian Flores as defensive coordinator cannot be ignored. While he was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Flores’ defenses progressively improved into very elite groups in this regard. After a 2019 season where the Dolphins ranked dead-last in pressure rate, Miami ranked 11th in 2020 and 3rd in 2021.
Combining the Flores addition to the coaching staff with the assumption that Hunter remains productive, Davenport gets back to form after a down-year last season, and a few of the young Vikings continue to develop and progress, there is a very good chance that Minnesota’s pass-rush is far improved in 2023.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.