Did the Vikings fix their pass rush?

asked and answered.  BOOM

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

@"Tyr" said: The Vikings certainly improved their pass rush, but I wouldn't go as far as saying they fixed it:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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. 

@"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.

@"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.

@"Jor-El" said: 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.

Show me the coaching staff that has routinely developed multiple late round picks into productive pass rushers.

It's one of the most important positions and yet, like OT there aren't even 32 good ones in !whole League.

That's why all teams, not just the Vikings, use late picks on super raw kids hoping to get a hit now and then so that you don't have to always use premium picks to get one.

@"FSUVike" said:

@"Jor-El" said: 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.

Show me the coaching staff that has routinely developed multiple late round picks into productive pass rushers.

It's one of the most important positions and yet, like OT there aren't even 32 good ones in !whole League.

That's why all teams, not just the Vikings, use late picks on super raw kids hoping to get a hit now and then so that you don't have to always use premium picks to get one.

No worries, J. Aruna is simply another lottery ticket and we won't know for a while if that ticket pays off or not. So not likely to impact the pass rush this year like you said.

What I'm more interested in is how much and when Zimmer rotates in Weatherly, Bowers and Obdehjisyj or whatever the hell his name is.

Does Mike take Griff out only during blowouts? Will the kids get reps in the first halves of games? Do all three get a shot?

@"Jor-El" said: 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.

would you rather see the vikings pass on their later round picks? you have to draft somebody and theyre all projects after the 2-3rd round depending where you want to draw the line. 

@"Poiple" said: 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.

I think Griffin getting hurt was only part of why the pass rush fell off. The lack of an interior pass rush was a big problem, which the Vikings addressed. Depth at DE is more of an unknown. We still have Robison who is in the late stages of his career, but is still an effective player. After that, we really don't know how guys like Weatherly and Bower would handle a bigger role. Maybe the staff has full confidence in them, but Weatherly only saw 9% of snaps and Bower 1% of snaps last year. We do have Holmes who can play DE as well, though it sounds like his focus will be UT/3-technique for now. I think there was a case for taking an edge rusher early, letting them be part of the rotation this year and then taking on a bigger role the following year. Maybe they feel that they already have that guy on the roster, but I really want to see them work their other pass rushers in more, so that Griffen and Hunter don't wear down too much as the season goes on.

I honestly thought Weatherly was going to get cut last year.  I was surprised he made the active roster.  Now, the fact that he made the active roster and not the PS means the team still feels he will get snatched by another team so that was good news.

Still, this TC is really it for him.  If he doesn't burst onto the scene, then I think the curtain closes for him in Minnesota.

@"Ponifan" said: I honestly thought Weatherly was going to get cut last year.  I was surprised he made the active roster.  Now, the fact that he made the active roster and not the PS means the team still feels he will get snatched by another team so that was good news.

Still, this TC is really it for him.  If he doesn't burst onto the scene, then I think the curtain closes for him in Minnesota.

Outside of Robison, Weatherly played the most out of their reserve pass rushers last season. He only registered 7 tackles, but my guess is he's someone they can trust to play his assignment. Bower is more of a natural pass rusher, so he could supplant Weatherly. I think Arunda probably ends up on the practice squad, unless he really flashes some ability during TC and the preseason. If someone like Hercules Mata'afa makes the roster, then it is likely at the expense of Weatherly or Bower. I'd like to see Weatherly take the next step and stick around, because he is one of the most interesting guys on the team, but he still needs to beat out the competition.

@"Tyr" said:

@"Ponifan" said: I honestly thought Weatherly was going to get cut last year.  I was surprised he made the active roster.  Now, the fact that he made the active roster and not the PS means the team still feels he will get snatched by another team so that was good news.

Still, this TC is really it for him.  If he doesn't burst onto the scene, then I think the curtain closes for him in Minnesota.

Outside of Robison, Weatherly played the most out of their reserve pass rushers last season. He only registered 7 tackles, but my guess is he's someone they can trust to play his assignment. Bower is more of a natural pass rusher, so he could supplant Weatherly. I think Arunda probably ends up on the practice squad, unless he really flashes some ability during TC and the preseason. If someone like Hercules Mata'afa makes the roster, then it is likely at the expense of Weatherly or Bower. I'd like to see Weatherly take the next step and stick around, because he is one of the most interesting guys on the team, but he still needs to beat out the competition.

never mind, i saw that it was a link and not just highlighted. lol

he is interesting.  a cool piece, thanks.