Vikings Employ an “Under-the-Radar Star”
Minnesota’s very obvious star player is Justin Jefferson, a player who’s breaking records almost at a weekly pace. He’s also the last Vikings player to win some silverware when he clinched the Offensive Player of the Year honors following his excellent 2022 campaign.
Vikings Employ an “Under-the-Radar Star”
Other than Jefferson, the club has some other star players under contract. Most would probably list Christian Darrisaw, Harrison Smith, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, and T.J. Hockenson.
Garrett Podell of CBS Sports nominated an under-the-radar star: Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
He wrote: “Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave was once considered one of the better players at his position in the entire NFL. He registered two Pro Bowl selections in a three-year span from 2021 to 2023, a stretch that also included reaching the Super Bowl in 2022 with the Philadelphia Eagles. The San Francisco 49ers rewarded him nicely for his production in the 2023 offseason by signing him to a four-year, $84 million contract, but after he suffered a torn triceps injury that ended his 2024 season after three games, they kicked him to the curb.”
Hargrave was a decent player for the Steelers, and he was even better in Philadelphia on their stacked defensive line. The 49ers added him in 2023 to take their defensive line to another level. The result was a Super Bowl appearance in his first season with the club, followed by a lost season in 2024 due to the first major absence in his career.
The torn triceps cost him all but three games. Now, at the age of 32, a bounce-back isn’t guaranteed, which is concerning for the Vikings. Still, considering his pre-injury health and production, it’s a solid bet.
More from Podell: “Minnesota signed Hargrave to a two-year, $30 million contract with $19 million fully guaranteed this offseason, and if he can bounce back to perform at his level from a couple of years ago, Hargrave could be a star once again in Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ scheme.”
Hargrave has played in 130 career games with 115 starts. He logged 45.5 sacks in those contests and collected 380 tackles over the years. Impressive: He had never played fewer than 15 games in a year prior to 2024.
The Vikings have lacked an interior disruptor for years, and they finally got one. Hargrave was hired to get after the quarterback; that’s what he does. The defensive lineman produced seasons with 52, 57, and 61 QB pressures between 2021 and 2023. Just for context, each of those numbers would’ve ranked him ahead of Andrew Van Ginkel, only behind Jonathan Greenard on the 2024 Vikings.
He will team up with fellow free-agent newcomer Jonathan Allen in an attempt to revive the interior pass rush in the Twin Cities. Alan Page, John Randle, Keith Millard, and Kevin Williams left too much of a legacy to keep ignoring the interior playmaking any longer.
Vikings team captain Harrison Phillips recently said about his new teammate: “One of the things about ‘Graves specifically is his get off […] when you have a player that’s so vertically disruptive, there’s areas to overlap players. So they get so vertical that they might take your guy right off in front of you.”
In the last few years, Phillips had to be something he isn’t, and that’s an interior rusher. He specializes in stopping the run, but the franchise didn’t have anyone like Hargrave in the building. With the two new guys around, Phillips can focus more on his strength.
Hargrave argued a few days after his signing in March: “If you’ve got a defensive tackle who can pass rush and cause havoc, it’s a good thing for the defense. I think it really don’t matter no more if you’re smaller; they kind of look at the football player more than just looking at the size of the football player.”
It’s easy to see Hargrave return to his old self, at least to some extent. While he might no longer be as explosive as he was a couple of years ago, he should still provide a spark and give the defense another dimension.
Hargrave is a two-time Pro Bowler.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
3 Vikings Strengths Heading into 2025