PFF Declares the Vikings Linebackers as a Top-Five Unit
Josh Frey
|
Eric Kendricks has long been the motor that makes the Vikings defense go. Since his rookie season of 2015, when Kendricks has been on the field, the Minnesota Vikings are 59-40-1 over 100 games. In the 13 games that he hasn’t played, Minnesota is 6-7. 2021 was largely considered a down year for the 2019 All-Pro linebacker, especially when he was forced to stop the run. However, PFF is not shying away from the Vikings linebackers in their rankings ahead of the 2022 season. Seth Galina put together the list of all 32 linebacker units, and Minnesota’s group came in at No. 5. Here’s what Galina had to say about the Vikings:
In Eric Kendricks, the Vikings have had a superb all-around linebacker for years. Kendricks’ grade did falter in 2021 — a 59.9 mark that was down from 82.6 and 90.1 the past two years, respectively. A new defensive coordinator and scheme will help him, though. The Vikings also brought in the underrated Jordan Hicks from the Cardinals in free agency.
-Seth Galina
Indeed, the availability of Kendricks will be crucial if Minnesota is to turn the tides in 2022 and make a playoff run. However, it may not be quite as important as it has been in the past. Just yesterday, I released my own linebacker rankings, discussing the groups in the NFC North. In that list, I put Minnesota second in the division, just behind the Green Bay Packers. For what it’s worth, Galina agrees as the Packers come in at No. 4 on his list, just ahead of Minnesota.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1041644″ player=”26281″ title=”Where%20the%20Purple%20Money%20Goes” duration=”932″ description=”Dustin Baker explains the Vikings salary cap allocation by NFL ranking.” uploaddate=”2022-06-27″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/snapshot/1041644_th_1656350692.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/sd/1041644.mp4″ width=”16″ height=”9″]
My reasoning behind this placement was that Minnesota finally has something that they haven’t in recent years: depth. In the two years prior to this one, the Vikings were relying on late-round rookies like Troy Dye or an oft-injured Anthony Barr. Now, they have multiple players who can line up across the middle of their defense. None are more important than the player I have coined as Minnesota’s most underrated offseason acquisition, Jordan Hicks.
The Vikings run defense was a large portion of Minnesota’s downfall in 2021. giving up a terrible 4.7 yards per carry. Hicks is Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s answer towards improving the run defense as he will prowl the middle of the field alongside Kendricks. Hicks has recorded 18 TFLs since 2020, tied for 13th-most among linebackers.
On top of that, rookie Brian Asamoah was standout this spring for the defense and could play a role in the defense this upcoming season. He progressed mightily in his final year with the Oklahoma Sooners, recording 80 tackles in 2021. Between this trio, some potential growth from Troy Dye and Blake Lynch, and the hybrid LBs of Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith, the Minnesota Vikings linebackers should be a fun unit to watch this year.
