As the Minnesota Vikings fade into the offseason, there has been a lot of discussion about their defensive line. Allowing 264 rushing yards to the New Orleans Saints in front of a national audience will do that, but is especially questionable considering how the unit was put together.
With the decision to trust their coaching and development, the Vikings exposed several young players as inadequate options. While several players struggled, a common counter-argument is that Minnesota was missing two key players in the trenches with Michael Pierce opting out and Danielle Hunter suffering a season-ending neck injury.
Both players are expected to be back in 2021, which has bred optimism that things will be better next year. Assuming Hunter and Pierce are back to form, it’s fair to wonder if some of these players on the roster could be better once they return.
Ifeadi Odenigbo
One of the biggest disappointments in 2020 has been Odenigbo’s performance. After recording seven sacks in 2019, it was expected that he would have a breakout season, using the same blueprint that Brian Robison, Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter have taken en route to a full-time starting job.
Instead, Odenigbo looked like a depth piece along the defensive line. The Vikings hinted at this when they made the trade to bring Yannick Ngakoue to Minnesota, but they still had to expect more from the third-year lineman considering what he did in the previous season.
As the Vikings showed when they traded Ngakoue after six games, they value pressures more than actual sacks. In 2019, Odenigbo was able to do that generating 25 pressures on just 262 pass-rushing snaps, a 9.5% pressure rate. According to Pro Football Focus, that led to a 6.2 pass rusher productivity rating that ranked 82nd among all qualifying defensive linemen.
This didn’t scream superstar status was coming, but with a leap forward the hope was that Odenigbo could match Griffen’s 2019 production — 66 pressures on 534 pass-rushing snaps (12.3% pressure rate) and a 7.3 PRP rating (49th among qualifiers).
While Odenigbo’s pressure rate jumped to 10% (42 pressures on 420 pass-rushing snaps), his pass-rusher productivity rating actually went down to 5.6, 81st among qualifying linemen. Again, while this isn’t bad, it’s not what the Vikings were expecting from the 26-year-old, but there’s a chance he could have a rebound season with the return of Hunter and Pierce.
One of the keys to Odenigbo’s 2019 season was that the Vikings had players who could take attention away from him. With Griffen and Hunter entrenched at the defensive ends, Odenigbo could be deployed at several different positions and played just over 30% of his snaps at defensive tackle, per PFF. With the Vikings needing him on the outside, that number dropped to 4% in 2020.
With Odengibo’s sack production taking a hit, it’s possible that he could be more comfortable in a joker role similar to how the Vikings used Stephen Weatherly. If they opt to use Odenigbo more on the inside, he could play a three-technique next to Pierce, who’s ability to create interior pressure and draw attention could free up Odenigbo for a bigger season.
D.J. Wonnum
After a strong combine performance, Wonnum became co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson’s “pet cat” and was drafted in the fourth round of last April’s draft. With one season under his belt, it’s unlikely that Wonnum will become the second coming of Hunter. But it is possible that Wonnum could develop into a strong rotational piece that can eventually help solve the Vikings’ biggest problem: generating pressure.
Wonnum never displayed strong pass-rushing chops at South Carolina, collecting 14 sacks in three seasons. He also didn’t make splash plays stopping the run with just 14 run stops during his senior year. If the Vikings were going after athleticism over production, Wonnum was definitely a guy that fit that mold.
The first six weeks were lean as Wonnum was expected to take a “redshirt” year but was forced into a more prominent role with Ngakoue’s departure after the Week 6 bye. In the past eight games, Wonnum has created 16 pressures on 154 pass-rushing snaps (10.3% pressure rate) and a 5.8 PRP rating which ranks 54th among qualifying edge defenders since Week 8.
These numbers are impressive and on par with what Odenigbo did last season for the Vikings. They were also done with members of the defensive line becoming non-existent once Ngakoue joined the Baltimore Ravens.
Wonnum may never reach the same ceiling as Hunter, but a more realistic expectation is for him to become the next Odenigbo. With Hunter on the other side and Pierce in the middle, it should create more opportunities for Wonnum to produce should he ascend to a starting role next season. Even if the Vikings look for an upgrade in free agency or the draft, Wonnum could provide some of the depth Minnesota didn’t have this past season.
Whoever is playing next to Michael Pierce
We’re not going to list a player here because there’s a good chance he may not be on the roster at the moment. The current starting defensive tackles are Jaleel Johnson, who grades as PFF’s 131st defensive tackle, and Shamar Stephen, who grades out at 68th. Even if Patterson wants to give a preseason seminar on the importance of Stephen, it’s clear the Vikings need an upgrade at this position even with Pierce’s projected return.
Whoever steps in next to Pierce will be handed a major advantage. At 340 pounds, Pierce is a wide body who can take up multiple defenders as opposed to Stephen, who can probably take up one. With the strength that allowed him to rip off a 725-pound squat at Samford, Pierce also can penetrate in the trenches, which is something the Vikings defensive line hasn’t done much of since getting to the NFC Championship Game in 2017.
Pierce is not the second coming of Vince Wilfork, but he brings something to the Vikings they’ve been sorely missing. During that 2017 season, Pierce graded out as the 11th best interior defender per PFF. The following season, Pierce graded fifth overall and ranked 11th with an 11.3 run stop percentage. Those numbers dropped in 2019, but his overall resume was what enticed the Vikings to give him a 3-year, $27 million contract.
Even if the Vikings decide to stay with Johnson, there’s a chance he could put up better numbers with a behemoth like Pierce next to him. Johnson put up 3.5 sacks in 2019 and may have had a fighting chance to do more if he wasn’t playing next to someone who is known more for being in the right spot than actual production.
More likely, this will be a spot that the Vikings will focus on in free agency or the draft. Adding someone like Leonard Williams is a pipe dream considering the Vikings’ current salary cap situation, but trading up into the second or third round could net Minnesota an intriguing prospect that should be better than what they have.
