NFL.com ranks three teams ahead of Vikings for Best DL

[purplefaithful]

The Minnesota Vikings had a pretty good argument for being the NFL’s best defensive line last year – and then they added a star this offseason. But signing Sheldon Richardson to play alongside Everson Griffen, Linval Joseph and Danielle Hunter wasn’t quite enough to land the No. 1 spot on NFL.com’s list of best D-lines.The Vikings ranked fourth behind the Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams.

Jacksonville and Philadelphia nabbed the top spots in part because of their depth. The Jags acquired Marcell Dareus last season via trade to bolster and already-dangerous line featuring Calais Campbell, who ranked second in sacks last year. They also drafted Florida defensive tackle Taven Bryan.
Philadelphia lost Beau Allen and Vinny Curry, but nabbed former Seahawk Michael Bennett and DT Haloti Ngata. The Eagles made waves last season with their impressive D-line rotation that includes Chris Long and Derek Bennett mixing in with stars Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox.
The Rams do not have the depth of the Jags or Eagles, but they signed Ndamukong Suh to go along with Aaron Donald, who rated as the league’s No. 1 DT by Pro Football Focus last year.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/0...sive-line/

[Guest]

It is not obviously wrong. Not sure I would even disagree with it. It is an “on paper” assessment. All that’s left is to actually play the games and see who’s best.

[Guest]

We'll see about that...

[Guest]

Anywhere in the top 5 is not bad. Front, middle to back of the defense we are as good or the equal of any. Think we improved our offense enough with Kirk. Hopefully with the full return of Cook we're top 5 on both sides. Very few can win it all with dominance on one unit only.

[Guest]

From memory our D was good at getting off the field last year,  but they didn't really have the splash stats like huge sack games or lots of turnovers and scoring.  

I think Zim needs to find something new to keep the fear in the opposing teams offenses and save if for special occasions.   Not a random third down in the 2nd quarter against some team we should have no problems beating.

[Guest]

Tough to argue with the rankings; those are great fronts.

The only thing I would say is that the aging Michael Bennett to the Eagles is being overrated. And the addition of Sheldon Richardson to the Vikings is being underrated.

I think the Eagles take a step back. Bennett is 32, Ngata is 34 and hasn't played a full season in 7 years. And Jernigan had back surgery and probably won't play this year.

I get the feeling Mike Zimmer is a bit OCD. The article is right that his linemen fit together like a starting 5 in basketball. If you were to design players to fit into a 43 DL in terms of size, characteristics, etc, they'd look a lot like our front four.  

Our DL was one of the best in the league last year. No disrespect to Tom Johnson, but we did that with a big gaping hole at 3T. Putting Sheldon Richardson on that line--a guy who might have more raw ability than anyone he'll be lining up next to--should take that DL from very good to dominant. 

[Guest]

@MaroonBells said:
Tough to argue with the rankings; those are great fronts.

The only thing I would say is that the aging Michael Bennett to the Eagles is being overrated. And the addition of Sheldon Richardson to the Vikings is being underrated.

                               .....

Our DL was one of the best in the league last year. No disrespect to Tom Johnson, but we did that with a big gaping hole at 3T. Putting Sheldon Richardson on that line--a guy who might have more raw ability than anyone he'll be lining up next to--should take that DL from very good to dominant. 

If Richardson turns out to be for us what I think/hope he is, we will need to do whatever is necessary to keep him. If that means passing on Sendejo, Waynes, and/or Barr, so be it. (We need to keep Hunter and Diggs.). Johnson and Holmes may become nice players, but they don’t have his raw ability. And I don’t see us getting a shot at drafting a guy like Richardson any time soon.