The Vikings’ Week 1 and The 1 Gigantic Giant Capable of Ruining It
The Vikings’ Week 1 opponent is the New York Giants, a largely hapless team that isn’t going anywhere in the NFC East.
Last year, Brian Daboll’s squad finished 30th in the NFL by averaging a measly 15.6 points per game. Keep in mind that QB1 Daniel Jones missed a lot of the season, but it’s still a very low number. Defensively, the Giants finished off at 26th by allowing 23.9 points against per game. Again, not good. It’s on that side of the ball, however, where Minnesota could run into some problems.
The Vikings’ Week 1 and The Gigantic Giant
Standing at 6’4″ and weighing 340 pounds, Dexter Lawrence is a massive man. Expecting Garrett Bradbury to corral the defensive tackle from start to finish would be foolish.
In 2023, Mr. Lawrence finished off the season as the top-rated defensive tackle on PFF with a blistering 92.9 grade, coming in a spot ahead of Aaron Donald in the process. The placement arrives a year off of finishing as the 2nd-best defensive tackle with a 91.6 grade, so offering elite play isn’t exactly new for the 26-year-old defender.
Simply considering his size would leave one with the impression that he’s a run defense specialist. The grades — an 89.5 run defense grade — support the idea. But then there’s the reality of finishing first in pass-rush grade (92.6). Lawrence isn’t a one-trick pony. The man can do it all.
In these pair of seasons, Lawrence has been a second-team All Pro and has been to the Pro Bowl. Last year, he finished 9th in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Per PFF, Lawrence snagged 6 sacks, 45 hurries, 14 QB hits, and 65 pressures. In other words, he was commonly impacting the QB, putting the passer under duress with great regularity. Is Minnesota ready for the challenge?
The starting trio along the interior of the o-line is Blake Brandel, Garrett Bradbury, and Ed Ingram. Almost guaranteed, these three are going to lose reps against Dexter Lawrence. The defender is simply too dominant to completely nullify for a full game.
Most of Lawrence’s snaps arrive in the A-gap area, meaning he plays in a similar spot as Harrison Phillips. The difference is that New York’s nose tackle is both much larger and much better at getting after the passer.
The gigantic Giant had 502 snaps as a nose tackle and 179 snaps as a 3-technique last season.
Kevin O’Connell can help his side by getting the ball to the outside early and often. Let Sam Darnold play decisively as he gets rid of the football with rhythm and consistency. Simply sitting back in the pocket waiting to get walloped is a recipe for disaster. Sweeps, bubble screens, slants, etc. Death by a thousand paper cuts.
Furthermore, a good run/pass balance would help. Part of the goal is to be unpredictable, forcing Lawrence to think when he’s on the field. 3rd & 9 is almost certainly a pass, so the Giants’ DT would simply pin his ears back to create havoc. Facing 3rd & 2 is quite a different scenario and one that can ideally prompt Lawrence to play a touch slower.
Add it all together and Aaron Jones + Ty Chandler have a role to play.
Dexter Lawrence is 26 and is coming off a season when he played in sixteen games, picking up 707 snaps. He was picked 17th overall back in 2019 and has developed into one of the NFL’s preeminent players. The defender is playing on a 4-year, $90 million deal.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
The Sam Darnold Curveball Minnesota May Not be Ready to Hit
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.