09-18-2024, 02:29 PM
(How they are using Jihad Ward was my biggest surprise)
The 4 Biggest Surprise Minnesota Vikings Players through 2 Weeks
Josh Frey
Sep 18, 2024
Heading into the 2024 season, many Minnesota Vikings fans were cautiously optimistic about how the season would go.
Could the Vikings compete for a Super Bowl? Probably not. Could they at least hang around the .500 mark and make a playoff push, though? Perhaps. Now, though, Minnesota is 2-0 through the first two weeks of the campaign, and they even finished off a victory against the San Francisco 49ers without the help of star receiver Justin Jefferson down the stretch.
Undoubtedly, the Vikings have been one of the biggest surprise storylines so far in the NFL, and here is a look at a few of the surprise players who have made it possible.
Through the first three seasons of his NFL career, Patrick Jones recorded five sacks, and he graded out as one of the worst pass rushers in the NFL last season, per PFF. With a deeper group of a edge rushers on the Vikings roster this season, some even considered him to be a potential cut candidate.
Jones has responded by nearly equaling his career sack total by putting up four sacks through two games and becoming a force in the trenches for the Vikings defense. Minnesota leads the NFL with 11 sacks through two weeks, and Jones is a major reason for that success.
Jalen Nailor has turned into exactly the WR3 type of player that was viewed as a Vikings need throughout the offseason. Some fans scratched their heads when the Vikings made very few moves to shore up the depth at that position, but Nailor is proving why the coaching staff and front office had faith.
Through two games, Nailor has four receptions for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns. With Jordan Addison out of the lineup in Week 2 because of an ankle injury and Justin Jefferson going down with his own injury, it was Nailor who stepped up in key moments this past weekend to help the Vikings solidify a win over the reigning NFC champs.
Throughout much of Jihad Ward’s NFL career, and particularly over the past few years, he has been almost exclusively a pure outside edge rusher. In two seasons with the New York Giants, Ward played 1022 snaps from the outside compared to just 358 snaps elsewhere on the defensive line.
Well, Brian Flores has taken Ward and completely flipped his snap alignment. Through two weeks, the defender has played 46 snaps and is yet to line up outside of the tackles. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is the fact that it has worked.
PFF has graded Ward at 74.9 for his defensive efforts, and he has recorded seven QB pressures as the much-needed interior pass rush force for the Vikings.
Of course, we cannot finish this list without discussing the quarterback Sam Darnold. It has been a complete career rejuvenation through two weeks in Minnesota, completing 72% of his passes for 476 yards and four touchdowns.
If Darnold continued this pace through the entire year, he would finish the season with 4076 passing yards and 34 TDs. His previous career highs in those categories are 3024 passing yards and 19 passing TDs, both coming in 2019.
Darnold seemingly has fit perfectly into Kevin O’Connell’s offense to this point, and hopefully, it will continue through the rest of the season.
The 4 Biggest Surprise Minnesota Vikings Players through 2 Weeks
Josh Frey
Sep 18, 2024
Heading into the 2024 season, many Minnesota Vikings fans were cautiously optimistic about how the season would go.
Could the Vikings compete for a Super Bowl? Probably not. Could they at least hang around the .500 mark and make a playoff push, though? Perhaps. Now, though, Minnesota is 2-0 through the first two weeks of the campaign, and they even finished off a victory against the San Francisco 49ers without the help of star receiver Justin Jefferson down the stretch.
Undoubtedly, the Vikings have been one of the biggest surprise storylines so far in the NFL, and here is a look at a few of the surprise players who have made it possible.
Through the first three seasons of his NFL career, Patrick Jones recorded five sacks, and he graded out as one of the worst pass rushers in the NFL last season, per PFF. With a deeper group of a edge rushers on the Vikings roster this season, some even considered him to be a potential cut candidate.
Jones has responded by nearly equaling his career sack total by putting up four sacks through two games and becoming a force in the trenches for the Vikings defense. Minnesota leads the NFL with 11 sacks through two weeks, and Jones is a major reason for that success.
Jalen Nailor has turned into exactly the WR3 type of player that was viewed as a Vikings need throughout the offseason. Some fans scratched their heads when the Vikings made very few moves to shore up the depth at that position, but Nailor is proving why the coaching staff and front office had faith.
Through two games, Nailor has four receptions for 75 yards and a pair of touchdowns. With Jordan Addison out of the lineup in Week 2 because of an ankle injury and Justin Jefferson going down with his own injury, it was Nailor who stepped up in key moments this past weekend to help the Vikings solidify a win over the reigning NFC champs.
Throughout much of Jihad Ward’s NFL career, and particularly over the past few years, he has been almost exclusively a pure outside edge rusher. In two seasons with the New York Giants, Ward played 1022 snaps from the outside compared to just 358 snaps elsewhere on the defensive line.
Well, Brian Flores has taken Ward and completely flipped his snap alignment. Through two weeks, the defender has played 46 snaps and is yet to line up outside of the tackles. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all is the fact that it has worked.
PFF has graded Ward at 74.9 for his defensive efforts, and he has recorded seven QB pressures as the much-needed interior pass rush force for the Vikings.
Of course, we cannot finish this list without discussing the quarterback Sam Darnold. It has been a complete career rejuvenation through two weeks in Minnesota, completing 72% of his passes for 476 yards and four touchdowns.
If Darnold continued this pace through the entire year, he would finish the season with 4076 passing yards and 34 TDs. His previous career highs in those categories are 3024 passing yards and 19 passing TDs, both coming in 2019.
Darnold seemingly has fit perfectly into Kevin O’Connell’s offense to this point, and hopefully, it will continue through the rest of the season.
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