Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen Were the Missing Pieces
Javon Hargrave was the “shocking” offseason acquisition (so far) by the Vikings back in March. It wasn’t because he wasn’t a fit or he wasn’t on anyone’s radar; it was because they had also signed Jonathan Allen to a multi-year commitment beforehand.
To give credit where it’s due, Allen will also bring some of the same thing that’s been missing from the Vikings’ defensive interior line, just not to the degree that Javon Hargrave will. If Jonathan is bringing the Mac and Cheese to Christmas dinner, then Javon Hargrave is bringing the brown sugar and honey-glazed spiral ham.
Both are awesome additions to the spread and are widely appreciated, but one is considered the entreé when it comes to the specific metric at hand.
Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen Bring the Heat
That metric would be pressure rate. Per NFL Pro’s Next Gen Stats, Javon Hargrave leads all defensive tackles (min. 800 snaps) since 2021 in pressure rate with 14.3%. The rest of the top 5 have some very impressive names that Hargrave outperformed in that time:
- NYJ Quinnen Williams – 13.3%
- KC Chris Jones – 12.6%
- LAR Aaron Donald – 12.3%
- NYG Dexter Lawrence – 12.0%
In 2024, among all 329 edge rushers, defensive ends, and defensive tackles (with no snap minimum), Javon Hargrave came 28th in pressure rate with 13.6%, though he only played three games. Jonathan Allen came 135th with an 8.5% pressure rate.
Vikings’ Interior Pressure Woes
Yes, the NFL is a “what have you done for me lately?” league, but Hargrave being 28th and Allen being 135th in the NFL in pressure rate last season doesn’t sound as “meh” when you take into account the pressure rates of Minnesota’s 2024 defensive interior linemen and where they stack up out of 329 defensive linemen:
- Jerry Tillery – 5.5% (215th)
- Jalen Redmond – 5.2% (222nd)
- Harrison Phillips – 4.7% (238th)
- Jonathan Bullard – 2.7% (279th)
- Taki Taimani – 2.4% (286th)
Levi Drake Rodriguez had a 0% pressure rate, which would obviously be last in the NFL, but NFL Pro states that he only had two pass rushing attempts in 2024, so we won’t include him on the list.
It’s pretty obvious to see that Hargrave and Allen will be a shot in the arm to a Vikings defensive interior that was completely void of pressure generation in 2024. It’s also pretty exciting to remember that even with the minuscule amount of pressure from inside last season, the edge rushing unit was so good that the team was still 9th in pressure rate and 5th in sacks as a whole.
Even more exciting is imagining that edge rushing group with legitimate interior pass rushers in between them.
