06-08-2022, 11:32 PM
Fifteen minutes after the Vikings wrapped up Tuesday's opening of a three-day mandatory minicamp at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson was the last veteran on the field. He held a blocking pad, walking second-year teammate T.J. Smith and rookie Tyarise Stevenson through pointers of playing in the new 3-4 defensive front.
The Vikings' switch to a 3-4 defensive front under coordinator Ed Donatell, which the franchise hasn't featured in decades, is no small change. Tomlinson, entering his sixth NFL season, is the only interior defensive lineman with extensive experience going back to his time with the Giants and at the University of Alabama.
Just about everything, from the playbook to where and how interior defensive linemen line up, is different.
"Even the smallest thing like your stance," Tomlinson said. "You have to change that, because you're playing blocks differently. You have to use a little bit more power than hitting gaps and stuff like that. You have to be ready to take on those bend blocks and those double teams a lot more on the inside."
Defensive line coach Chris Rumph is transitioning a room full of 4-3 defensive tackles with Tomlinson's help. Even free agent signing Harrison Phillips, the fifth-year nose tackle, is learning from Tomlinson as he transitions from Buffalo's 4-3 front.
"[Tomlinson] knows the ins and outs," second-year defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman said. "How to rush in this defense, how to play 4i [aligning on the offensive tackle's inside shoulder]. Been leaning on him a bunch."
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-note...600180076/
