A Pair of Vikings Set Career Numbers Versus the Titans
The defense was the Achilles heel for the Minnesota Vikings in the final two seasons of Mike Zimmer’s tenure and in the first year without him under defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. Brian Flores was hired to fix the flawed unit, but personnel issues led to him playing a clunky scheme in 2023, and his defense ultimately collapsed late in his first campaign.
A Pair of Vikings Set Career Numbers Versus the Titans
Minnesota’s defense has been electric through the first 11 games of Flores’ second season, and a big reason is the free agency class that included various starters and contributors, including pass rushers Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard. The duo joined returning defender Patrick Jones and the Vikings later added first-rounder Dallas Turner in the draft to form a quartet of edge defenders.
Compared to last season, when four-time Pro Bowler Danielle Hunter was the lone threat on the edges, the Vikings now feature a scary rotation in 2024. Greenard has been excellent, producing seven sacks in ten games. He is coming off a season with a career-high 12.5 sacks as a defender of the Houston Texans.
His wingmen Jones and Van Ginkel, meanwhile, are having career years in the Twin Cities, as both have already stacked the most sacks of their careers.
Patrick Allen Jones II was selected in the third round of Rick Spielman’s final draft as Minnesota’s general manager in 2021. Coming out of Pittsburgh, he appeared in nine games in his rookie season. His first sack came in year two when he more than tripled his snaps (306) played and recorded four sacks.
With Flores’ arrival and the departure of starter Za’Darius Smith, many expected a jump in production from the third-year player in 2023, but despite Marcus Davenport’s injuries and the growth in defensive snaps to 635, he only had one sack.
This year, however, Jones has already tabulated seven sacks in ten games and 327 defensive snaps. He has kept his rotational spot despite Turner’s presence, and it has resulted in a career year. Interestingly, Pro Football Focus has graded him as a fantastic run defender with subpar grades as a pass rusher, which could indicate that Flores’ scheme has helped him.
Regardless, Jones has been excellent against the run, which is valuable, too. He is in the final year of his rookie contract, and the sack total will surely earn him a nice raise in free agency.
Van Ginkel, on the other hand, has already received his raise, reuniting with his former head coach, who drafted him in Miami. Flores wanted Van Ginkel in Minnesota, and the duo is a match made in heaven because the veteran is a versatile defender who can drop into coverage and rush the passer, making him a perfect fit for Flores’ confusing scheme.
In his final two seasons in Miami (both after Flores’ exit), Van Ginkel was a rotational player, but the defensive coordinator saw the potential and has unleashed it this year. By sacking Will Levis twice on Sunday, he has also eclipsed his previous career-best of six sacks.
In only ten contests with the Vikings, Van Ginkel has recorded eight sacks, one forced fumble, two interceptions (both returned for touchdowns), and 46 tackles.
The 29-year-old signed a two-year contract in free agency worth $20 million, perhaps being Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s biggest steal as Minnesota’s general manager.
The pass-rushing crew has been fun to watch for the first ten games, with three players producing at least seven sacks for the first time since 2019 when Everson Griffen, Ifeadi Odenigbo, and Danielle Hunter did it.
The 2024 trio could be the third one in franchise history to tabulate ten sacks each, following in the footsteps of Gary Larsen, Jim Marshall, and Alan Page in 1968 and Chris Doleman, Keith Millard, and Al Noga in 1989.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Focus, Over the Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt