Imagine being Mike Zimmer on Christmas of 2020. You’ve lost every lynchpin of your defense save Harrison Smith. Just five days ago, you watched David Montgomery set a career-high 146 yards with your season on the line. You’re watching an uncharacteristically soft defense allow a Madden-like six touchdowns to Alvin Kamara. You’re watching Drew Brees enjoy a light day of just 26 pass attempts in a game where the New Orleans Saints score twice as many points. Something has to change.
The offseason was fairly confusing by traditional standards. With Michael Pierce returning, the Minnesota Vikings signed a second nose tackle, then grabbed Sheldon Richardson. They did not acquire an edge rusher with a higher pedigree than Stephen Weatherly, despite not knowing Danielle Hunter’s status for most of the season. But there was a method to this madness.
When the Vikings signed Tomlinson, we speculated about how he would fit with Pierce, Weatherly, and whoever Minnesota would draft. After the draft, when the Vikings chose a project quarterback over a bevy of potential edge rushers, we grew even more confused. Sure, D.J. Wonnum has earned some praise, but he’s not ready to be the Robin to Hunter’s Batman.
In the spring, when Sheldon Richardson reunited with the Vikings, we theorized that he could secretly be the answer on the edge. Maybe they’ve found that he plays well on the edge, where he can be more aggressive? Maybe Dalvin Tomlinson and Michael Pierce will play double-nose in an attempt to free up Eric Kendricks? Maybe Anthony Barr will play on the edge? Maybe maybe maybe?
Now that camp is well underway, the Vikings’ strategy can be laid bare. For all this madness, it appears Mike Zimmer had a plan. To understand it, we have to do away with specific 4-3 position designations. The Vikings won’t move to a 3-4 (though they are borrowing plenty from them), but rather rotate players through a series of alignments.
Wonnum is probably the headline in this regard. He has aligned inside at defensive tackle. He has aligned as more of a true edge rusher. He has aligned as a blitzing outside linebacker. He has even backed into coverage, generating perhaps the highlight of camp so far.
The Vikings have also employed a 5-2 front, which looks similar to the over-and-under variants of the 4-3, but with a beefier interior. It has featured a number of players as camp tends to, but this is one variant I noticed during a red-zone drill:
This stacked five defenders between the tackles (with Eric Kendricks and Nick Vigil playing off the ball), five on the line of scrimmage, and allowed the Vikings to counter the tighter formations they seem to prefer on the offensive side.
That isn’t to say the Vikings have entirely abandoned the classic 4-3 setups. That’s clearly still their base (or 4-2-5 in nickel, which will probably be used more in season). But they have asked Barr, Wonnum, and even Hunter to roam around the formation almost like Harrison Smith does. And Smith himself is roaming plenty as well.
In 2020, the Vikings ran a frustratingly vanilla defense* because it’s the only card that young, street-free-agent-laden defense knew how to play. With more experienced veterans at every level, Zimmer can conjure whatever he wants. Looking at the offseason in hindsight, that’s very much on purpose.
Some other defensive notes from the last several days of camp:
- Patrick Jones II is earning his way into the rotation in run defense. Pre-snap motion and deception, a staple of the ACC, rarely catches him off guard. He has notched plenty of TFLs against zone runs away from his side.
- Janarius Robinson is struggling mightily, looking like one of the worst defenders on the third team, and often struggling to defeat Zack Bailey or Evin Ksiezarczyk.
- Nick Vigil has pulled ahead of Cam Smith in the battle for the third linebacker spot, as evidenced by the recently released unofficial depth chart.
- On that depth chart, Bashaud Breeland is listed as the first corner. That’s a bit of an upset, but it reflects how camp has gone. Dantzler and Peterson are now competing for the second job.
- Peterson has done much better in team drills than in one-on-ones, which highlights how important it is for the Vikings to choose the right role for him.
- Mackensie Alexander’s leadership is more than just lip service from the coaches. The veteran corner has spent plenty of time mentoring young receivers after competitive reps, especially K.J. Osborn.
- The offense has stressed the defense with pre-snap motion tricks throughout camp. The first-team defense has rarely been caught out of position by this, but the second team has struggled.
- Kenny Willekes has spent time as an inside rusher instead of an edge rusher, and James Lynch has lined up at nose tackle. It’s reminiscent of Hercules Mata’afa’s niche nickel rusher role.
- Speaking of, Mata’afa has made quite the case for himself to make a crowded roster on the defensive line.
- Camryn Bynum is by far the third best safety, but Josh Metellus looks very comfortable. Myles Dorn has made a few more splashy plays, but Metellus is less often caught out of position and has swatted down some balls of his own.
*An earlier version of this post referred to a “vanilla offense.” We regret the error.
