The Vikings’ Corners and A Surefire Way to Help the Team Coverage
Step back and it’s easy to have some concern about the Vikings’ corners, especially after the injuries to Mekhi Blackmon and Shaq Griffin.
Adding another corner, though, is just one way of helping the situation. Are there ways that Brian Flores can improve the position without the personnel seeing an injection of talent? Better yet, is there a way to make the current corners look like better players? For someone like Flores – a tactician who isn’t afraid of being aggressive – the solution may rest in ratcheting up the pressure, but doing so in a specific manner.
The Vikings’ Corners and A Greater Pass Rush
Even the NFL’s best QBs can’t do their job if they’re constantly getting hit.
Last season, Minnesota was reliant on Danielle Hunter, someone who had a marvelous season. Mr. Hunter finished things off with 16.5 sacks, easily leading a team that had injuries galore by the time it was all said and done. Maybe full seasons of Marcus Davenport and D.J. Wonnum would have made things a bit more balanced, but that’s not how the season played out.
And, of course, sacks only tell part of the story. Yes, they’re a nice exclamation point, but creating a broader set of conditions where the QB is constantly rushed is the real goal.
To that end, Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner look to be tremendously important. These players will very seldom have coverage responsibilities – Van Ginkel will be the one who drops into coverage the most – but the work they do will directly impact the coverage.
Beating a blocker cleanly and getting instant penetration is a surefire way of impacting a QB’s ability to complete a pass. Or, at least, comfortably and consistently complete a pass.
Last season, Minnesota led the NFL by blitzing 51.5% of the time. The switch from Ed Donatell – who blitzed just 18.9% of the time – was dramatic. Minnesota ended up dramatically increasing the hurry percentage, jumping from 7.1% in 2022 to 9.5% in 2023, fifth-best in the NFL (the sacks, though, were down at 43, somewhere around the middle of the NFL).
Now, there’s a downside. Blitzing is a classic case of stealing from Peter to pay for Paul. Sending an extra player(s) to get after the QB means there’s now less players to cover the eligible receivers. The best case, then, is to only send four and still be able to impact the quarterback on a consistent basis. Doing so leaves seven men to cover a maximum of five pass catchers, but often less than that.
Flores isn’t going to change who he is. At heart, he’s an unafraid, attacking, aggressive DC who loves to scheme up pressure. Don’t expect that to change. Nevertheless, he may be able to blitz less and still generate pressure since the pass-rushing crew looks deeper.
Yes, adding some corner help could be prudent, but the in-house talent at edge rusher offers some optimism that the defense’s overall coverage could take a step forward. Applying pressure early and often will be the key.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
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.
