New PFF Article Slams Vikings’ Defensive Line
Pro Football Focus has been busy ranking individual positions, entire position units, as well as entire rosters this off-season, as I’ve personally covered over the last month. They’re at it again, this time deploying Sam Monson (infamous among Kirk Cousins lovers on Twitter/X) to rank the NFL’s defensive lines.
Monson describes his list as “a comprehensive ranking of all 32 teams’ defensive lines,” going on to explain that he assessed the depth of each position across the line, of course including 3-4 linebackers as edge rushers.
The Vikings came home 30th in Monson’s rankings, in other words, calling them the third-worst defensive line in the entire league. He explains:
The Vikings’ offseason free agency swap of Danielle Hunter for Jonathan Greenard was likely a downgrade, even if they got younger and cheaper in the process. Andrew Van Ginkel earned a 91.1 PFF overall grade last season, but that was a massive outlier in a career that has typically seen him post grades in the 60s and 70s. Rookie Dallas Turner will have high expectations, but the interior of this line is a weakness.
Getting “Defensive” About The New-Look Pass Rush
30th is a surprising ranking since edge rushers are included in the term “defensive line.” Yes, the transition from Hunter to Greenard is a “downgrade,” but the entire pass-rushing unit was upgraded as a whole. The Vikings let their top three of Danielle Hunter, Marcus Davenport (all three games of him), and D.J. Wonnum all walk in free agency in March and replaced them with one slight downgrade at the top spot and two significant upgrades at the second and third edge-rusher spot.
Either way, you look at Marcus Davenport walking; even if he had two sacks in the three games he played, he still only played three games. He was the number two guy when healthy last season across from Danielle Hunter, and to give credit, he was effective when he played. Unfortunately, he didn’t play much. Pretty hard not to come to the conclusion that both Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner are upgrades over that.
D.J. Wonnum was the number three guy who got thrust into Davenport’s role, which is something he just simply wasn’t. Wonnum was good enough as a depth piece, especially when you weren’t relying on him to be one of your main sources of producing pressure. Wonnum’s 56.8 PFF pass-rushing grade was good for 98th out of 120 rushers that played at least 131 downs. For context, Andrew Van Ginkel’s pass-rush grade of 90.6 was 7th out of the qualifying rushers.
PFF formulated a pass-rushing efficiency stat called PRP, which is comprised of sacks, hits, and hurries relative to how many times they rush the passer. The top performer in this stat was, unsurprisingly, Dallas Cowboys superstar Micah Parsons, with a score of 12.6. Here is how former and current Vikings (not including rookie Dallas Turner) shaped out in PRP in 2023 among rusher with at least 131 reps:
- Andrew Van Ginkel – 10.1 PRP (13th in NFL)
- Jonathan Greenard – 8.3 PRP (34th in NFL)
- Danielle Hunter – 8.2 PRP (T-35th in NFL)
- D.J. Wonnum – 5.2 PRP (T-97th in NFL)
When expanding the parameters to all rushers that played any number of snaps last season, Marcus Davenport ranked T-97th in the NFL with a score of 6.3.
Adding blue-chip prospect Dallas Turner into a group of already efficient pass rushers will only boost this ranking more next season, but until then, it must be proven on the field.
Interior Defensive Line Tanks Overall Ranking
Where the Vikings fall off heavily in the ranking is the rest of the defensive line, and that shouldn’t be too much of a shock to anyone who follows the Vikings, even at a minimal level. The unit is very bare, with Harrison Phillips leading the charge. No slight to him, as he’s a solid player. However, Phillips being the top guy is a bit of a concern. The unit of Phillips, Tillery, Roy, and Bullard is a sketchy and unproven one.
Jerry Tillery is a free-agency signing from earlier this off-season. He is on his third team since the Los Angeles Chargers picked him with the 28th pick of the 2019 NFL Draft. The Chargers would let him walk to their division rival Las Vegas Raiders, where he would produce a very uninspiring two seasons of football. 2024 in Minnesota very well could be his last chance to make it work in the NFL, and the only hope Vikings fans can really have for him is that he wants it bad enough.
Jaquelin Roy was the 141st selection in the 2023 NFL Draft via the Minnesota Vikings by way of LSU who didn’t really do much in the way of impressing in his rookie year, though he was a fifth-round pick after all. Roy will likely be behind Phillips if they are to play Phillips at nose tackle, though with the lack of depth, the former Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee could be more of a 3-4 defensive end, which he dabbled with a bit in the Brian Flores defense last season.
Jonathan Bullard is another name that just doesn’t jump off the page in this group. He would be fine as a depth piece but not as a potential starting 3-4 defensive end. The majority of his snaps last season came at left defensive end, and he was kicked inside to tackle quite a bit as well. He would only amass nine total pressures, including seven QB hurries and two QB sacks on 326 pass-rushing snaps, per PFF. He also graded out absolutely abysmally.
Of all of the defensive linemen that played at least 216 snaps in 2023 (255), these are Bullard’s main PFF grades and where they rank amongst his peers:
- 46.3 overall defensive grade (231st in NFL)
- 53.7 run defense grade (159th in NFL)
- 46.9 pass-rush grade (248th in NFL)
For the fun of it, I also looked up his PRP score. It was 4.0. 302nd in the NFL.
Vikings’ Lack of Aggression On The IDL Will Likely Cost Them
While the Vikings certainly made some good moves this off-season that will pay dividends in the future, it was very disappointing to see the lack of aggression in the pursuit of a legitimate presence on the interior of the defensive line. They were reportedly in on Christian Wilkins, the big fish of free agency, but it’s not like there aren’t Plan Bs, Cs, and Ds in place. The addition of a force inside to mind the gap between the Vikings’ new-look pass rush could’ve solidified what should be an already above-average defensive unit.
The offseason isn’t over yet, however, and the Vikings’ search for a legitimate nose tackle could extend into the season close to the trade deadline. There are some notable names in the 2025 Free Agency pool that teams could look to expend to recoup some draft value so they’re getting something in return for a player they might reach an agreement with. Spotrac lists Maliek Collins, Davon Godchaux, and Quinton Jefferson as a couple of potential names that could be available. Packers standout Kenny Clark is a pending free agent that will likely be extended, but he is also worth at least a mention. The Vikings will also keep a watchful eye on Jonathan Allen’s situation in Washington.
The defensive line should be the top priority in the future in terms of filling out the roster for Minnesota, and only time will tell if they show some aggression toward legitimate producers at the position.
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