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We have Griffen, Hunter, and Joseph in their prime. Robison may come back for another season.
We've added Sheldon Richardson who should be a big upgrade over Tom Johnson.
Jalyn Holmes is being moved inside and could potentially fill a pass rushing specialist role similar to Tom Johnson as a rookie.
We also drafted a HWS guy in Ade Aruna who is extremely athletic. Patterson might be able to turn him into a poor man's Hunter as a rookie.
Finally, we still have Weatherly and Bower from past drafts who could emerge with another off-season of work.
I think the Vikings did a good job addressing this issue through FA and the draft.
Not sure Holmes offers much pass rushing potential.
He had 2 sacks and 3 TFL last year. In 2016, he had 2 sacks and 8.5 TFL.
Aruna had 3 sacks and 3 TFL last year. In 2016, he had 5 sacks and 10 TFL.
They passed on Duke Ejiofor in the 5th twice taking Conklin and Carlson
Ejiofor had 6.5 sacks and 16.5 TFL last year. In 2016, he had 10.5 sacks and 17.5 TFL.
Not sure if Aruna or Holmes will ever get there as pass rushers.
Holmes is supposedly decent vs the run though.
Did you forget Jalil Johnson? I think the coaches like him. He should play more. i suspect some of these guys were drafted to develop, not as finished products. I don’t recall if Hunter had many sacks at LSU. He developed a lot with the Vikes.
The Vikings certainly improved their pass rush, but I wouldn't go as far as saying they fixed it:
- UT Sheldon Richardson (FA) - Not someone who has racked up a lot of sacks the past few years, but he's known for generating quick pressure up the middle, which disrupts quick passing attacks and funnels the QB into edge rushers.
- UT Jalyn Holmes (Ohio State) - He was a LDE/UT in college, but it sounds like the Vikings intend to move him inside to UT. He's another guy who generates a lot of quick interior pressure, but not a ton of sacks. He's considered to be raw and has good physical tools, so there is room to improve.
- DE Ade Aruna (Tulane) - He's a raw pass rusher with good physical traits who has only been playing football for 5-years. The Vikings seem to take a guy like this in the late rounds every year under Zimmer and while Weatherly has turned into a decent enough depth player, they haven't hit a home run on a guy like this.
- DT Hercules Mata'afa (Washington State - RFA) - He's an undersized DT who was an explosive pass rusher in college who has a knack for blowing up plays in the backfield. He doesn't have a clear position at the next level (could be a UT, DE, or LB), but he could be an interesting role player for Zimmer to work with.
So I would say that the Vikings focused on improving at generating quick pressure up the middle, which was a legitimate problem that they had last season and is a great counter to the quick passing attacks that are becoming popular. I still think they could have used another edge rusher to help keep Griffen and Hunter's snaps down, so that they can be fresher late in the season, but they're better off than they were.
One strange thing is that they don't really have a backup NT right now. I wonder if Jalil Johnson will end up getting some snaps there, since the DTs they added were more UTs/3-techniques and Johnson didn't exactly seize that role last season.
Quote: @Tyr said:
The Vikings certainly improved their pass rush, but I wouldn't go as far as saying they fixed it:
- UT Sheldon Richardson (FA) - Not someone who has racked up a lot of sacks the past few years, but he's known for generating quick pressure up the middle, which disrupts quick passing attacks and funnels the QB into edge rushers.
- UT Jalyn Holmes (Ohio State) - He was a LDE/UT in college, but it sounds like the Vikings intend to move him inside to UT. He's another guy who generates a lot of quick interior pressure, but not a ton of sacks. He's considered to be raw and has good physical tools, so there is room to improve.
- DE Ade Aruna (Tulane) - He's a raw pass rusher with good physical traits who has only been playing football for 5-years. The Vikings seem to take a guy like this in the late rounds every year under Zimmer and while Weatherly has turned into a decent enough depth player, they haven't hit a home run on a guy like this.
- DT Hercules Mata'afa (Washington State - RFA) - He's an undersized DT who was an explosive pass rusher in college who has a knack for blowing up plays in the backfield. He doesn't have a clear position at the next level (could be a UT, DE, or LB), but he could be an interesting role player for Zimmer to work with.
So I would say that the Vikings focused on improving at generating quick pressure up the middle, which was a legitimate problem that they had last season and is a great counter to the quick passing attacks that are becoming popular. I still think they could have used another edge rusher to help keep Griffen and Hunter's snaps down, so that they can be fresher late in the season, but they're better off than they were.
One strange thing is that they don't really have a backup NT right now. I wonder if Jalil Johnson will end up getting some snaps there, since the DTs they added were more UTs/3-techniques and Johnson didn't exactly seize that role last season.
Odenigbo is still on the team too, and he could be a factor at DE.
I am also curious to why they did not get an NT...even with UFDAs. The fact that they drafted Holmes does suggest that Jaleel moves to NT. I don't think that is a good move as I doubt he has the strength to play there.
The best player they got long-term in this draft is Aruna. At least, that is my prediction. He has the same height and speed as Hunter, but Aruna can grow bigger. Hunter cannot. It will take awhile, but I think Aruna could be a solid starter at DE.
Quote: @dadevike said:
Did you forget Jalil Johnson? I think the coaches like him. He should play more. i suspect some of these guys were drafted to develop, not as finished products. I don’t recall if Hunter had many sacks at LSU. He developed a lot with the Vikes.
Didn't forget him... just forgot to list him earlier. :-D
Griffs foot is a worrisome thing. Really it is the main thing to affect our pass rush. We all saw the effect on the entire D at the end of last season.
Plantar Facietous is something that can come back and haunt you for a lifetime. Im sure he is rehabbing and experts are looking at it yadda... Even still it can stick around for years. I hope its not the case with Griffen. He seems to be a driving force.
Quote: @dadevike said:
Did you forget Jalil Johnson? I think the coaches like him. He should play more. i suspect some of these guys were drafted to develop, not as finished products. I don’t recall if Hunter had many sacks at LSU. He developed a lot with the Vikes.
I believe Hunter had 3 TOTAL sacks in college.
But to me, drafting Aruna means the coaches have little or no faith in some of the DE projects currently on the roster. Sure, he has awesome measurables - but so did Weatherley, very similar in fact. So isn't the physical freak with 2 years in our system a better bet to contribute than the physical freak who is a rookie? We also have Bower and Odenigbo as DE projects. Why draft another if any of them look promising? And - call me cynical - if they haven't had luck with any of those 3 longshots, why should we expect Aruna to be different?
I do like Holmes, especially to develop at 3T. Sounds like Jaleel Johnson is slated to backup Joseph at NT.
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