Joe O’s Views from Winter Park: Roster Analysis, Part 2: The Defensive Line

The Vikings defensive line is currently in a state of flux—which is not uncommon for any NFL team at this time of the year. And head coach Mike Zimmer likes to combine tough run stoppers with voracious pass rushers, employing a platoon system to keep his players fresh and the opponents on their heels. That’s why the unit is often changing, as the team looks for the best combination of youth, experience and skill to man its defensive line.

“With a high-energy defensive line like ours, I think keeping fresh bodies is probably going to be our main focus,” said Vikings defensive tackle Datone Jones, who signed as a free agent this offseason. “[We want] multiple guys getting after the quarterback non-stop and just having that ‘great white shark mentality.’ There’s blood in the water, and we’re swarming the quarterback.”

There are some changes in store this season along the defensive line. One look at the roster and you can see there are a few different names listed. Some of the changes were made by necessity, while others happened because “you can never have enough good pass rushers,” as they say.

So, now with minicamp over, let’s take a look at the rostered members of the defensive and try to determine how it will shake out at training camp in Mankato and shape up this season at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Nose Tackle

 There is no mystery who the Vikings’ starting nose tackle will be in 2017. Linval Joseph came to the Vikings in 2014, grabbed the NT spot and nothing is going to move him from there now (not even a stray bullet was able to keep him down long). Joseph has been called by his head coach Zimmer one of the best players to ever play the position and his play last season backed it up as he was third on the team with 100 total tackles (in the coaches’ numbers) and tied his career high with 4.0 sacks, ultimately making his first Pro Bowl (as an alternate).

After Joseph, things get a bit fluid. Shamar Stephen is listed behind Joseph on at least one way-too-early depth chart, but both players started 16 games last season, so they were starting side-by-side in the interior of the defensive line. Stephen could en up becoming Joseph’s backup, or fill-in in the revolving rotation of Zimmer’s defense. But there are plenty of names to consider at nose tackle (see below), and the rotation has yet to be determined for this season.

Best Guess: My best guess (hope) for this position is that Joseph stays healthy and plays another 16-plus Pro Bowl-quality games for the Purple in 2017. Stephen (32 tackles and no sacks) would make a nice backup to spell Joseph (although I am not convinced that is where he will land). The Vikings will certainly identify another player (Will Sutton) to fill in here, as well.

Three Technique

Perhaps one of the first new players that could spend time at nose tackle is rookie Jaleel Johnson from Iowa. Johnson was drafted in the fourth round and comes to the team with experience at more than one inside defensive line position.

“We felt very strong that those big defensive lineman were going to go early,’’ Spielman said of the 6-foot-4, 310-pound Johnson on draft night. “We felt what we’ve seen at Iowa, his flexibility to play nose tackle and under tackle. The Senior Bowl, he was outstanding.’’

But the 3-tech position is up for grabs—with injured incumbent Sharrif Floyd’s future so up in the air—and there are plenty of players vying for it. Rookie free agent tackle Dylan Bradley from Southern Mississippi is in the mix while another rookie, Ifeadi Odenigbo from Northwestern (taken in the seventh round), is listed as a “defensive linemen” and noted as a pass rusher, so his skills may be more suited at end. But that doesn’t necessarily lock him in there, as even defensive end Everson Griffen lined up at the 3-tech position during Organized Team Activities (OTAs).

The Vikings have two new veterans on the line, as well, in the offseason acquisitions of Datone Jones from the Green Bay Packers and Will Sutton from the Chicago Bears. While Jones is listed as a linebacker (which he played in Green Bay) on the Vikings’ roster, he spent some time working with his hand in the turf during OTAs.

“Just being back in my natural position … it takes time to get back in the three-point stance and do all the movements and turn your hips and get to the quarterback,” Jones said during OTAs. “I started off slow, but now I’m working fast.”

Sutton, meanwhile, played nose tackle in the Bears’ 3-4 defensive scheme (starting six of eight games he played), so he could figure into the rotation behind Joseph also. But Sutton will have to step up his game to make a name for himself in Minnesota.

Tom Johnson, who spelled Stephen on passing downs last season, is back, but he may be in a fight for playing time—or even a position on this unit that is getting younger. Last season, Johnson had 11 tackles and 2.0 sacks in 14 games (he also had an interception and fumble recovery), which were down a bit from prior years (he averaged 20 tackles and six sacks in his previous two seasons as a Viking). So, let the competition begin.

“At the end of the day, we’re all trying to make a spot on this team. But at the same time, we’re all trying to make us better,” Sutton said. “When you have healthy competition, it makes you want to go out there and compete and study and do the right thing every time.”

Best Guess: Floyd, unfortunately, watched during OTAs and is likely done. Jones gets a long look as a down lineman, but could keep his hand in at linebacker (position flexibility is key in this league and with Zimmer). Sutton could come in behind Joseph at NT until someone else proves too valuable to keep off the game-day roster. Stephen has the inside track on the 3-tech, but Jaleel Johnson could push him. I think Tom Johnson makes the team for his pass-rushing skills, but he’ll need to produce more to increase his snap count. Jones, a former first-round pick in Green Bay, will retain his flexibility and be employed throughout the line, not unlike Brian Robison has been.

Defensive End

Speaking of Brian Robison, the 11-year vet started the offseason by announcing first that he believes Danielle Hunter would supplant him as a starter at right end, and later he told reporters that he thought 2018 would be his last season in the NFL. Those statements are a combination of reading the writing on the wall (or listening to his coaches) and attempting to finish his career on his own terms.

Robison is probably right is seeing what’s coming—Hunter was getting first-team reps during minicamp while Robison was working with the second team defense—and no one recognizes Hunter’s ascension (12.5 sacks last season) more than Robison:

“When you’ve got a guy like Danielle [who is on track to] be in the Ring of Honor one day, hopefully he can stay healthy and do the things he needs to do, because he’s got a bright future,” Robison told ESPN. “To have a guy like that, [who] looks up to you and has told me many times that he really wants to emulate some of the stuff that I do, it means a lot.”

Robison still has value for the team. His flexibility and willingness to play up and down the line is admirable (if not smart, as he restructured his contract in the offseason to add another season in 2018), and is likely to continue. But his leadership on the young Minnesota team is readily apparent on the practice field, as he might not have be leading the depth chart, but certainly he was leading some of the drills vocally at Winter Park last week.

At the left end is Griffen, who is going nowhere except into the opposing team’s backfield. The implementation of Griffen at the 3-technique position is interesting to consider, but then that kind of experimentation is what the offseason is all about. I am not sure that it will happen a lot this season (as rushing the QB from the 3-tech is what Robison did at times), but it might be a nice (occasional or maybe situational) wrinkle to throw at an unsuspecting guard.

The other side of the coin is that so much of what a pass rusher does is predicated on setting up their blocker for certain moves as the game goes on, so taking Griffen out of position a lot would, in my estimation, only be for giving the opposition a different look during the game.

The Vikings have eight defensive linemen currently listed on their roster, with three of them (Tashawn Bower, Caleb Kidder, Sam McCaskill compiling zero seasons of NFL game experience—plus Stephen Weatherly has one tackle in two games last season). Among these players, expect quite a battle for roster spots and backup roles to ensue in Mankato.

Best Guess: Griffen starts at left end and Hunter at right end. Robison will be part of the rotation and see time inside. Datone Jones (who is listed as an end) should make some appearances at end due to his pass-rushing experience, but I expect to see him moved around, as well. And Odenigbo will also rush the quarterback for the Purple in 2017. But the most intriguing thing to watch will be what Zimmer does with the entire unit. He loves players with flexibility so the team doesn’t get caught in a situation where, perhaps, the long-snapper has to fill in on the defensive line (they were almost there last season on the offensive line). The starters are set, but the rotational should be fun to follow all season.

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