Vikings Now Have All-Pros at Every Level of the Defense
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings defense systemically failed in 2020. Every level of the defense was ravaged by injury – Danielle Hunter and Michael Pierce upfront, Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks in the middle, and Mike Hughes on the backside.
If the Vikings did absolutely nothing during the current offseason to improve with free agency or the draft, the 2021 defense would likely perform significantly better than the 2020 bunch that allowed the fourth-most points in the league.
But that the hypothesis will never be tested. Since the dawn of 2021 free agency, Minnesota has added only defensive personnel: Stephen Weatherly (DE), Dalvin Tomlinson (3DT), Nick Vigil (LB), Patrick Peterson (CB), Mackensie Alexander (CB), and Xavier Woods (FS).
Barring a totally bizarre turn of events this September, the Vikings defense is poised to spring from the fourth-worst bunch to something closer to the fourth-best. Indeed, that is an optimistic forecast, but the sheer talent on the roster effectively mandates average-to-supreme output.
And at every level of the Vikings 2021 defense, at least one All-Pro talent resides.
Upfront
Danielle Hunter missed all of 2020 with a spooky neck injury. If he and the Vikings front office and can hash out his contractual grievances, he will personally revitalize Minnesota’s pass rush. And the pass rush was gruesome in 2020. The Vikings ranked dead last in the NFL in putting pressure on quarterbacks during the pandemic season.
In 2019, Hunter was honored as First-Team All-Pro for the first time in his career (but he was Second-Team All-Pro in 2018). It was his fifth season in the business. He hoped to follow up his raucous 2019 campaign – the season that the Vikings stunned New Orleans in the playoffs – with another All-Pro effort, but 2020 shelved him with the neck injury.
Now, though, Hunter should be back for 2021.
The Middle
In the same season, 2019, linebacker Eric Kendricks snagged All-Pro recognition. He entered the NFL on the same day as the aforementioned Hunter – and both men have been Vikings for life.
Kendricks was lost in 2020 at a devastating juncture. The Vikings were 6-6 after a season rejuvenation – head coach Mike Zimmer’s team started the season with a lame 1-5 record. But they battled back. When Kendricks was lost for the rest of the year, the Vikings immediately lost three straight games – at TB, vs. CHI, at NO – and the team’s rags-to-riches 2020 fairytale was never authored.
The UCLA alumnus, Kendricks, will be back in September. So will his Bruin buddy, Anthony Barr. Barr was a second-team All-Pro in 2015 – his sophomore campaign.
Cornerback
Although the Vikings had the league’s best rookie cornerback per Pro Football Focus in Cameron Dantzler, the cornerback room last season was underwhelming. In March of 2020, Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, and Mackensie Alexander all departed, leaving the secondary in shambles.
Now, Dantzler and fellow 2020 rookie, Jeff Gladney, have one year of experience under their respective belts. To make matters sweeter, general manager Rick Spielman added Patrick Peterson to the roster in a shock move during free agency’s first week.
Peterson is a battle-tested, leadership-laded defender that spent a decade with the Arizona Cardinals. He won All-Pro honors in 2011, 2013, and 2015. Peterson is probably done racking up those accolades (he’s 30 years old), but his aura immediately makes the cornerbacks around him better. Spielman landed Peterson on a one-year deal for $8 million.
If all goes swimmingly, Peterson could finish his career in Minnesota as he vocally appreciates Mike Zimmer while seeming genuinely excited to begin his second act in Minneapolis.
Safety
Old faithful.
Harrison Smith will report to Eagan this summer for a 10th year of duty. Spielman found Smith with the 29th pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, and the safety has thrived ever since. He accrued All-Pro honors in 2017 – the season that Vikings defense was ghastly good. And then the following season, 2018, Smith was recognized as Second-Team All-Pro.
The Notre Dame alumnus was one of the lone bright spots for the Vikings defense in 2020 – to the surprise of no one. Smith and Kendricks were the men that kept the defense field-able until Kendricks’ injury. Well, Dantzler was pretty damn good, too.
Smith will have a new safety running-mate in 2021. The Vikings signed Xavier Woods from the Dallas Cowboys this weekend. Woods has not notched any All-Pro awards, but with Zimmer – a defensive whisperer – he will be set up for success alongside Smith.