Pre-Free Agency Vikings Roster Evaluation: Minnesota’s Defensive Line Might Need a Major Revamp
Josh Frey
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Free agency across the NFL officially gets started on Wednesday, March 13th.
Over the 11 days before free agency, we’ll be taking a bit of a deep dive into the Vikings roster to evaluate where each position group stands before the team can officially begin signing players on the open market. These evaluations will be broken up into the following topics:
- Quarterbacks
- Running Backs
- Wide Receivers
- Tight Ends
- Offensive Line
- Defensive Line
- Edge Rushers
- Linebackers
- Cornerbacks
- Safeties
- Special Teams
The series continues with more focus on the trenches. This time, we’ll be discussing the Vikings’ defensive line, which could be in need of a serious revamp this offseason.
Current Vikings Defensive Linemen
The Vikings defensive line currently holds three players on the roster: Dean Lowry, Harrison Phillips, and Jaquelin Roy. Phillips is the longest tenured Vikings player amongst that group, joining the team in 2022 after beginning his career with the Buffalo Bills.
Over his two seasons as a Viking, Phillips has been a very consistent producer for Minnesota. He has started all 34 regular season games in that time, recording 151 tackles, five tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, three passes defended, and a fumble recovery.
Lowry was supposed to come in and fill some of the Vikings’ need for an interior pass rusher last year. After spending seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers (including a 2021 season with five sacks), the defensive lineman signed a two-year contract with the Vikings worth $8.5 million. Unfortunately, he was limited to just nine games last season because of a torn pec, and he didn’t record a single tackle for loss or sack last season. The Vikings will need the bounce-back season that he is capable of in 2024.
Finally, Jaquelin Roy spent most of the 2023 season trying to find his role in the Vikings defense. He played 96 snaps with the defensive unit and recorded eight tackles including a tackle for loss over 12 games.
The best part of Jaquelin Roy’s game is the fact that he is basically the Energizer Bunny on the defensive line. Every single snap, he plays at 100%. ‘Relax’ is not a part of Roy’s vocabulary. Over 14 games for the Tigers in 2022, the defensive tackle played 50+ snaps in nine of them. As an interior defensive lineman, it’s rare to find a player with that type of endurance. He proved to be a stout presence for LSU’s run defense, and hopefully, he will be able to develop into a similar role for the Vikings in the near future.
The biggest focus for Minnesota on the defensive line this season should be finding a steady pass rusher to help take pressure off their edge group (we’ll talk more about the future of that position tomorrow).
Pending Free Agents
The most notable defensive lineman set to hit free agency for the Vikings is Jonathan Bullard. After signing with the team in 2022, he played 12 games for the Vikings that year but suffered a torn pec which ended his season before Minnesota’s playoff run. He came back strong in 2023, though, playing all 17 games and recording 44 tackles, three tackles for loss, a pair of sacks, and a forced fumble.
A pair of depth pieces from last season are also set to hit the open market in T.J. Smith and Khyiris Tonga. Smith played a pair of games for the Vikings, recording four tackles and appearing in 16 defensive snaps. Tonga, on the other hand, is a behemoth on the defensive line and has been a steady contributor for the past two years.
After being cut by the Bears prior to the 2022 season, Tonga hopped onto the Vikings roster and has played 25 games over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, including four starts.
Finally, James Lynch is headed to free agency after a torn ACL ended his 2023 season before it could even begin. Lynch was drafted by the Vikings in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft after spending his collegiate years at Baylor.
From 2020-2022, Lynch played 37 games and recorded 53 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, and a fumble recovery.
Potential Free Agency Targets
A couple of the top defensive tackle targets came off the board this week due to a franchise tag. However, Christian Wilkins was not tagged this week, meaning he is officially set to hit free agency next week.
Wilkins, 28, has spent each of his first five NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins after being selected with the 13th overall pick back in 2019. Ironically, the selection of Wilkins happened to be the first draft pick of Brian Flores’ tenure as head coach of the team.
Over those five seasons, the defensive tackle has been one of the more dominant defensive presences in the league, recording 355 tackles, 43 tackles for loss, 20.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, 19 passes defended, and an interception. 36 of those TFLs and 17 of his sacks have come over the past three years.
Wilkins is expected to garner one of the top contracts of the offseason with Spotrac projecting that he will receive a four-year deal worth nearly $81 million for an AAV of right around $20.2 million. Meanwhile, PFF’s Brad Spielberger has projected he will receive a four-year contract worth $100 million, including $67.5 million in guarantees.
A Loaded Draft Class Could Fill Minnesota’s Needs
If the Vikings don’t target a quarterback or edge rusher in the first round of this spring’s draft, defensive tackle very well could be the pick. There are plenty of top prospects to pick from, including Johnny Newton out of Illinois and Byron Murphy out of Texas.
Newton is a very versatile defender capable of contributing as a pass rusher (7.5 sacks in 2023) or in run defense. He is a freakish athlete in the middle of a defensive line and can be an immediate contributor to an NFL defense as a result.
The main concern with Newton heading into the draft is his size. He could benefit from packing on some extra bulk to truly hang with some of the larger guards at the NFL level, but hopefully, his strength and athleticism can help counter that.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference and Sports Reference CFB.
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.