Two Vikings Linebackers Earn Top Rankings from PFF
The Minnesota Vikings are seeing some bigtime roster turnover on the defensive side of the ball this year.
One of the players who left the defense this spring is linebacker Jordan Hicks, who signed with the Cleveland Browns this offseason. However, Minnesota’s defense has ben left in good hands at the position as PFF gave each of the starting Vikings linebackers in 2024 top rankings heading into this year.
Vikings Linebackers Earn Top Rankings from PFF
Gordon McGuinness ranked his top 32 linebackers in the NFL heading into the 2024 season. Both Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace made the list. Pace earned the No. 23 spot on the list while Cashman came in at No. 29.
McGuinness had this to say regarding Pace’s placement: “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.”
After going undrafted out of Cincinnati in 2023, Pace jumped into the Vikings defense last season and made an immediate impact for the group. The UDFA played all 17 games and made 11 starts this past year, accruing 102 tackles, two tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, a pair of passes defended, an interception, and a forced fumble.
As for Cashman, he was a free agent acquisition by the Vikings this spring after spending the past two seasons with the Houston Texans. The linebacker is an Eden Prairie native who spent his collegiate career at the University of Minnesota.
Following his time with the Golden Gophers, Cashman was drafted in the fifth round by the New York Jets in 2019. He spent the majority of his first four seasons as a rotational player, starting just eight games. However, 2023 was a breakout year for Cashman in the Texans defense.
The linebacker started 13 games for Houston and put together 106 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks, five passes defended, and an interception. “Cashman turned a career year with the Texans into a free-agent deal with the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. He faded as the 2023 season went on, but his 82.1 PFF overall grade ranked eighth at the position,” McGuinness wrote.
Hicks did not make the list, thus indicating that McGuinness believes that Minnesota gained an upgrade at the linebacker spot by replacing him with Cashman.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
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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.