The Vikings’ Bargain Bin All Star on Defense
There’s no sense of exaggeration in claiming that one of the absolute best decisions of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s career has been to sign UDFA Ivan Pace Jr.
The Vikings’ bargain bin all star at linebacker generated no shortage of hype last offseason. Even more promising is that he not only fulfilled the hype but far exceeded it. The 5’10”, 231-pound defender entered the season as a 22-year-old who had to scrape and claw to get onto the final roster. He finished the season as being among Minnesota’s top players as a locked-in starter and genuine difference maker on Sunday.
Ivan Pace Jr. as the Vikings’ Bargain Bin All Star
Yes, there was Pace optimism, but it was Brian Asamoah who was supposed to ascend to a starting spot. Instead, the 2022 3rd-Round selection struggled to get onto the field while Minnesota’s coaching staff struggled to keep Pace off the field.
Put simply, Pace just kept giving the coaches reasons to give him more playing time.
In the end, Pace played in all seventeen games while starting eleven. He picked up 102 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 9 QB hits, 2 tackles for loss, 2 passes defended, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery. Brian Flores leaned on Pace as one of the team’s main blitzers, sending the rookie linebacker 74 times. Any chance that blitz total tops 100 in 2024?
Add it all together and Ivan Pace was on the field for 706 snaps on defense, 62% of the total. Even more impressive is that he was also on the field for 249 special teams snaps, 57% of the total for Matt Daniels’ crew. So, an impressive season when we consider that we’re talking about a player who was on the field for nearly 1,000 snaps.
PFF had a positive assessment. The analytics site gave him a 77.1 grade for his efforts, coming in at 16th overall among the 82 linebackers who qualify for the ranking. So, firmly within LB1 territory.
Hopping over to their Top 32 Linebackers piece involves seeing Pace down at 23rd. Take a look at the word: “The undrafted Pace has already proven that he deserved to have heard his name called in 2023, with his ability as a blitzer immediately translating at the NFL level. He finished his rookie season with a 78.0 PFF pass-rush grade after registering 15 quarterback pressures from 109 pass-rushing snaps.”
For whatever it’s worth, Blake Cashman – the Vikings’ other starting linebacker for the upcoming season – sees his name come in at 29th. Combined, Cashman and Pace are supposed to give the Vikings an aggressive, versatile twosome from the linebacker spot.
Unlike Cashman, though, Pace is an absolute bargain. He’s entering Year 2 of his UDFA contract, so the cap charge is modest. Minnesota is kicking over just $921,666 in cap space for the 2024 season, representing some tremendous value for the Vikings given the defender’s level of play.
The Vikings are digesting some massive dead money right now. Being able to offset some of the inaccessible funds involves gaining excess value in other areas of the budget. To that end, look no further than Mr. Ivan Pace Jr.
The man didn’t get drafted but he fully earned a starting spot as a rookie. He’s expected to take on an even more prominent role in his sophomore season as Brian Flores’ defense looks to progress into becoming one of the NFL’s top groups.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.
