George Iloka Signing and What it Means
Jhawthorn16
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The Vikings added some depth at safety this week, adding the 28-year-old George Iloka. Some people view this signing as a depth only transaction, or a pure replacement for Andrew Sendejo, or even as a message to Anthony Barr that he can walk, and the team would be fine. Let’s take a dive into all these views and then decide which one of these makes the most sense. While Iloka may not end up making an impact this year, he is a big free agent signing and is a playmaking and hard-hitting safety. The deal is reportedly only for one season, but Iloka could play his way into a nice contract from the Vikings, or a different team.
Iloka is a solid safety, who in his career of 6 years has snagged 9 picks, forced 2 fumbles, and had 230 total tackles. Iloka to me is a near clone of Andrew Sendejo, as they both love to lay out offensive players who dare to challenge the middle. The issue with these types of safeties is in today’s NFL, receivers are very protected from any big hits. This is where Iloka’s depth value comes in. I would be willing to bet everything I own Andrew Sendejo is going to end up getting fined and suspended. So, when Sendejo inevitably ends up having to serve a 1 or 2 game suspension, Iloka will be able to step in and the defense shouldn’t miss a step, because they will replace their hard-hitting safety with yet another hard-hitting safety. Iloka doesn’t have blazing speed to be a centerfield safety, but he has great agility and is able to change direction very well to go make a play. I hope we don’t see Iloka because of injury or suspension, but football is violent, and the rules lean towards offense, so we may have to.
Now let’s get into the possibility of Iloka coming in and taking Sendejo’s job. Personally, I don’t think this will happen. Sendejo was in the top half of the league last year for safeties and had a key interception in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Sendejo however, is not great in coverage. This has been a complaint Vikings fans have had for a while now, but Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo seem to have a good balance of coverage and power. Iloka was most likely released because of a combination of money issues and because he isn’t a pure coverage safety. However, Iloka may have an upper in coverage compared to Sendejo, so the case could be made that Iloka is a copy of Sendejo, but with more coverage skills. I don’t see the Vikings replacing Sendejo, especially any time soon as the season kicks off in 2 weeks and that isn’t enough time to get a player into a system. Iloka shouldn’t be taking anyone’s job, but he may be an addition that forces a relocation on the Vikings defense.
One theory that I’ve heard from multiple outlets since the signing news broke is that Sendejo may be moving from a strong safety to an outside linebacker. I love this idea. This idea works in my mind, I just wish the Vikings had more time to implement this system and get Sendejo adjusted to playing linebacker. Sendejo is a physical player, who has average coverage skills for a safety. Average safety skills however can be turned into very good linebacking skills, and Sendejo is a good tackler as well. So, why not move him to linebacker, have him play some safety, some linebacker, and when Barr puts his hand down in the grass to rush the passer, Sendejo can step in and the defense won’s see a drop off in coverage ability or tackling ability at the outside linebacker position. Sendejo could also play deep with Iloka and smith could come down to play a linebacker/safety hybrid, as he already does frequently. Also, when the Vikings play the base 4-3 defense, we know that Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr will be in, but the final linebacker spot is still very open for someone to take. Instead of betting on a guy like Ben Gedeon or Eric Wilson to step up to an elite level, the Vikings could put Sendejo down as a linebacker and have a good, if not great 3rd linebacker on their team. Also, looking into the future a bit, Anthony Barr still remains unsigned. If Barr decides to leave, with Sendejo moving to linebacker, the team would go back to having 2 good linebackers on the team and some average guys who would have to step up to earn a starting job.
Now, I think Iloka is going to be a depth guy, but that doesn’t mean he will never see the field. Zimmer has made comments about playing some defenses with 3 safeties this season, and while Anthony Harris seems to be a good coverage safety, the Vikings may want to use a very physical lineup of Sendejo, Smith, Iloka, Kendricks, Barr, and Rhodes for their secondary players. This lineup could be very effective in 3rd and short as offenses won’t know whether the Vikings are sending a blitz or dropping guys back into coverage, and all those players I listed can jar the ball lose with a hard hit or making a big play on the ball and snagging a pick. No matter how we use Iloka, I like this signing and think that it adds depth to the safety department, and now I feel the team can handle an injury or maybe even 2. The Vikings got deeper on defense with this signing, and that can’t be a bad thing. SKOL!