Vikings May Add Another Pass Rusher.
Although all eyes are on the NFL draft, which might change the course of the Minnesota Vikings‘ organization in the event that they select one of the top quarterback prospects, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is still adding talent to the roster. Shaquill Griffin, a seasoned defensive back, joined the team on Tuesday.
He’ll be a part of a completely redesigned defense that had to watch Jordan Hicks, D.J. Wonnum, Marcus Davenport, and Danielle Hunter leave the building.
The Vikings signed Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard to take over the pass-rush responsibilities in place of those four players, while Blake Cashman will line up as Hicks’ replacement at middle linebacker alongside Ivan Pace.
Minnesota has to recruit one more edge defender to fully replace the four departures, but that player may be on the way. Jihad Ward, a former defender for the Giants, is scheduled to visit the Vikings, according to Jordan Schultz.
In addition to the starters already stated, the Vikings have two backups in 2021 in third-round pick Patrick Jones and undrafted rookie Andre Carter from the previous season.
The latter has yet to record a sack; in 68 defensive snaps in 2023, he only managed two tackles. Although a sluggish start to his career was anticipated after leaving the Army, the purple club kept him on the roster because of his physical potential.
In contrast, Jones has recorded five sacks in 42 games over the course of three seasons. Last season, he played 635 defensive snaps as a result of injuries that kept Davenport out of action for much of the season and prevented Wonnum from playing in the final two games. Since the Pittsburgh product hasn’t changed all that much throughout the years, it seems sense to include an additional depth choice.
After eight seasons in the NFL, Ward played for five different clubs and amassed eighteen sacks. He has donned the jerseys of the New York Giants for the past two seasons, as well as those of the Las Vegas Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, and Jacksonville Jaguars.
His most successful season occurred in 2023, when he picked off five quarterbacks in the opposition. Ward totaled eight sacks, 67 tackles, and 12 tackles for loss in his two seasons with the Giants.
Despite having the highest blitz percentage in the NFL, Minnesota’s defense finished 19th with 43 sacks. It’s critical to have the depth required to offset wear and weariness and injuries.
Although it is unlikely that the 2016 second-round pick will succeed as a starter, he might be a reliable rotational pass-rusher who can relieve the starters of some of their workload or step in as DC In order to rotate one edge defender to the inside of the defensive line, Brian Flores prefers to have more than two edge defenders on the field.