How to Fix a 7-9 Season? Mike Zimmer Has the Answer.
Dustin Baker
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Dissatisfied with a 7-9 campaign from last year, the Minnesota Vikings are re-formatting the gameplan for 2021 in a singular fashion via free agency. Head coach Mike Zimmer is repairing the roster in the most Zimmer way imaginable – through defense alone.
Every single new player acquired via free agency through March 27th is a defender.
These are the new men on the Vikings roster.
Stephen Weatherly, DE (1 Yr / $2.5 Million — from CAR)
Dalvin Tomlinson, DT (2 Yrs / $22 Million — from NYG)
Nick Vigil, LB (1 Yr / $1.75 Million — from LAC)
Patrick Peterson, CB (1 Yr / $10 Million — from ARI)
Mackensie Alexander, CB (1 Yr / Vet Minimum — from CIN)
Xavier Woods, FS (1 Yr/ $2.25 Million — from DAL)
Minnesota was the NFL’s fourth-best team via yards gained on offense and the 11th-best organization for points scored in 2020. Evidently, general manager Rick Spielman has no qualms with the offense – or he is waiting to explode in late April with an offense-heavy draft.
Regardless, the clearest path to victories in 2021 is evidenced in the team’s free-agent signings. Zimmer yearns for his team to be defensively ferocious, and Spielman’s acquisitions echo the sentiment.
Outside of a trade for offensive lineman Mason Cole from the Arizona Cardinals, the Vikings have made no moves to change the offense. Therefore, this 2021 bunch will be an attempt at re-channeling the defensive supremacy of 2017.
The Defensive Line = Unrecognizable
In Week 17 of 2020, the defensive line was largely comprised of Ifeadi Odeigbo, Shamar Stephen, Jaleel Johnson, and Jalyn Holmes.
None of those men will start in 2021, and almost all of them won’t even be on the 2021 roster. How’s that for change?
The Vikings signed Dalvin Tomlinson from the New York Giants, a sizable three-technique defensive tackle [who actually played nose tackle in New York]. Next to him is Michael Pierce. The 28-year-old Pierce was the one splashy Minnesota signing from the 2020 offseason, but he did not play due to coronavirus concerns. Stephen Weatherly returned home after one underwhelming season with the Carolina Panthers. For now, it seems he will start in September, barring the selection of an EDGE rusher in the 1st Round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
And then – quite the footnote – Danielle Hunter will return to his LDE spot after a season-long neck injury during the pandemic season.
From left to right, the Vikings have a totally refurbished defensive line when compared to last season: Hunter, Pierce, Tomlinson, and Weatherly.
Return of Kendricks, Barr in the Middle
Although Minnesota added Nick Vigil from the Los Angeles Chargers (and he will likely start unless Spielman finds a way to bring back Eric Wilson), he was not the “big news” for the linebacking corps.
The comforting aspect about the 2021 linebacking group is the return to normalcy. Anthony Barr kindly restructured his contract to remain in purple and gold for at least one more season. His 2021 price tag was expensive, but Barr agreed to rework his deal and shortened it by a season.
Eric Kendricks returns, too. And he is one of the best middle linebackers in the world. The Vikings lost Kendricks at a dreadful time during the pandemic season – right when playoff contention was at its most pivotal juncture. The Vikings defensive collapse was complete the moment Kendricks hurt himself in pregame warm-ups versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Last year’s Week 17 LB lineup of Troy Dye, Todd Davis, and Eric Wilson is now slated to look like Nick Vigil, Eric Kendricks, and Anthony Barr.
A Revamped Secondary
Now – on to Zimmer’s baby, the secondary.
This branch of the defense has undergone the most change in the last two weeks. Patrick Peterson from the Arizona Cardinals, Mackensie Alexander from the Cincinnati Bengals, and Xavier Woods from the Dallas Cowboys are the fresh additions.
Zimmer will not allow for his secondary to play lousy in 2021 – he is stockpiling depth like an apocalypse bunker.
Just as the Vikings lost Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, and Mackenise Alexander (yes, the same guy) during the 2020 offseason, Zimmer is flipping the script in 2021. He will not attempt to skimp this time around. The only notable exodus for the secondary is Anthony Harris. He voyaged to Philadelphia earlier this week.
The offensive line still has gaping holes to fill, but Zimmer and Spielman are not leaving anything to chance on defense in this make-or-break 2021 season.