The Minnesota Vikings ended Danielle Hunter’s contract drama on Sunday morning, agreeing to a one-year, $20 million contract for the upcoming season.
While Hunter’s signing is a big revelation for the Vikings’ defense, it doesn’t solve all of their questions as they hope for a big turnaround under new defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
With Hunter in the fold, let’s take a look at how the Vikings’ defense stacks up as they head into the 2023 season.
Edge Rushers: Danielle Hunter and Marcus Davenport
Hunter’s contract gives some stability at the edge rusher position, which lost 87 pressures with the departure of Za’Darius Smith. While losing Smith hurts, it’s not a big blow, especially with the addition of Davenport.
Davenport is coming off a rough season with the New Orleans Saints, managing just 29 tackles and 0.5 sacks despite playing in 15 games. While Davenport’s sack totals were low, he still generated a 12 percent pressure rate. That’s not as good Smith’s 15.7 percent pressure rate last year, but is serviceable with the added element of Davenport’s upside at 26 years old.
Used primarily as a down lineman throughout his career, Davenport will likely slide into a stand-up role in Flores’s scheme and be used in multiple positions as the Vikings adjust for their opponent.
If Davenport can thrive in that role and that should be good news for Hunter, who picked up 10.5 sacks and a 12.2 percent pressure rate with the Vikings last season. Mix in the versatility of Flores’s scheme and there’s no reason both Hunter and Davenport can’t have a solid year.
Defensive line: Harrison Phillips, Khyris Tonga, Dean Lowry
While Flores’s defense promises to bring more exotic looks than Ed Donatell’s did a year ago, its base defense is likely to resemble a 3-4 scheme. With that in mind, Phillips, Tonga and Lowry will likely have the same role as they look to stop the run and generate interior pressure.
Phillips and Tonga should be able to take care of the run for the Vikings as they graded 12th and 15th in Pro Football Focus’s run defense last season. With Phillips also grading 13th among qualifying interior defenders with a 6.3 percent tackle percentage, there’s enough for the Vikings to stop teams from running at will.
The issue is the Vikings’ ability to generate pressure in the trenches. Phillips logged a six percent pressure rate while Tonga had a 7.1 pressure rate last season. With the Vikings losing Dalvin Tomlinson, who led the Vikings’ interior defenders with a 9.1 pressure rate last season, Minnesota will have to make that up.
That led to the free-agent acquisition of Lowry, who spent the last seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers. While Lowry graded 76th out of 99 qualifiers in overall PFF grade last season, he is an adequate pass-rusher with an 8.6 percent pressure rate.
Lowry isn’t a superstar, but he comes at $8.5 million over the next two seasons, he comes at a much cheaper price than the four-year, $57 million contract ($14.25 million AAV) Tomlinson got with the Cleveland Browns.
If Phillips and Tonga can stop the run and Lowry can generate pressure, the defensive line should be serviceable, which can allow the players behind them to make plays.
Linebackers: Brian Asamoah, Jordan Hicks
This is one area of the defense that underwent a major change as the Vikings released Eric Kendricks last February. While Hicks remains, the Vikings are betting on Asamoah, who show signs of promise as a reserve last season.
Asamoah played sparingly to begin the year, averaging 21.6 snaps over the first 12 games. But his playing time jumped to 36 snaps over the final four weeks, where he ranked third among qualifying linebackers in overall PFF grade and first in coverage grades.
While Asamoah needs to work on his tackling (24th among 69 qualifying linebackers over the last four weeks), Hicks can make up for that as a traditional downhill linebacker.
Hicks was one of the NFL’s worst linebackers in coverage last season but graded 13th among qualifiers against the run and 19th with a 6.7 percent missed tackle rate. If Asamoah can thrive in coverage, it should be enough to mask Hicks’s deficiencies and lead to another improvement.
Cornerback: Byron Murphy Jr., Akayleb Evans, Joejuan Williams
This is the most fluid situation in the Vikings’ defense as everyone behind Murphy is battling for a starting role or a roster spot.
Flores demands versatility from his cornerbacks and Murphy fits that bill. With the ability to play on the outside or in the slot, the Vikings were wise to sign the 25-year-old to a two-year deal and use him as their top corner.
Behind Murphy is anyone’s guess. Evans flashed – especially against the run – when he got on the field but his durability is in question after suffering three concussions last season.
Andrew Booth Jr. is in a similar boat after battling a knee injury last year but is currently working with the second team in favor of Johnson.
A free-agent pickup from the New England Patriots, Johnson has worked with the first team in nickel packages in the early stages of training camp. Although he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury last August, Williams played just over 38 percent of his snaps in man coverage in 2021 and at 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds, he’s an ideal fit for Flores’s press-man coverage scheme.
Safeties: Harrison Smith, Cam Bynum…and Josh Metellus?
After agreeing to a pay cut last spring Smith returns for his 11th season with the Vikings this fall but the safety spot has plenty of questions not just in terms of personnel, but what their role will be.
Bynum currently holds a starting spot but he was an average player last season, ranking 72nd among 96 qualifying safeties in PFF’s overall grades. He did however receive positive marks for his ability against the run and tackling.
In a perfect world, 2022 first-round pick Lewis Cine would take over for Bynum, but he is working his way back from a season-ending leg injury and has been working with the second team during OTAs and the early days of training camp.
That leaves some to wonder about a “joker” role and it appears that Metellus is holding that down. Metellus was used at safety, in the slot and even as a pass-rusher during OTAs and his role seems to be a mystery heading into the season.
Bynum, Cine and Metellus should all push for playing time once the season begins, and it remains one of the most intriguing aspects of the Vikings’ defense.
