When Kevin O’Connell took over as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, he had plenty of decisions to make. While Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the front office took care of the personnel, O’Connell had to determine how to best use the players on the roster.
The idea that O’Connell would bring a Sean McVay-influenced offense to Minnesota was a given, but nobody knew what he would do on defense. Ultimately, he decided to implement a 3-4 scheme, something the Vikings have rarely deployed in franchise history.
A minicamp, a training camp, and 13 games later, O’Connell’s defense is a work in progress. The Vikings rank last in yards allowed, passing yards allowed, and yards per attempt. They’ve also allowed 400 yards in each of their past five games and over 450 yards in four of their past five games.
Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell has been under siege for his approach, and O’Connell is now revisiting one of his first decisions as head coach. Are his team’s defensive struggles based on personnel, or did he choose the wrong scheme for his defense to succeed?
It starts with the players. A quick glance by Vikings fans is a pleasant stroll down memory lane. Harrison Smith, Eric Kendricks, and Danielle Hunter were all part of the 2017 defense that ranked first in the league and led Mike Zimmer to his only NFC Championship game appearance. Ownership must have had the same feeling because the front office either left their contracts as is or restructured them while kicking money down the road.
By name recognition, this seems like a solid strategy. Most of the players had pointed to Zimmer as the reason their defense sank to the bottom of the league over the past two years, but they failed to mention their own enemy – Father Time.
With years of wear and tear, the impact players the Vikings thought they had reverted into average players at the end of their careers. Beyond that, Minnesota hasn’t put them in a position to succeed.
Smith has long been regarded as one of the league’s best safeties, grading 14th in Pro Football Focus’s defensive grades in 2020 and 11th in 2021. In his introductory press conference, O’Connell mentioned that Smith could line up in multiple spots and attack a defense, but that hasn’t come to fruition this season.
With Donatell’s defense using two safeties deep in coverage, Smith has lined up in the box on 22% of his snaps and 59% of his snaps in the traditional free safety spot. By comparison, Smith spent 32% of his snaps in the box in 2021 and 48% of his snaps in the box in 2020.
It’s possible that the Vikings were relying on Lewis Cine to play some of those snaps in the box to keep Smith in coverage, but Cine’s season-ending injury nixed those plans. Even with fewer responsibilities, Smith grades 44th out of 49 qualifying safeties in PFF’s overall defensive grades. At age 33, it could be the beginning of the cliff.
Kendricks also has been neutralized by the Vikings’ scheme. In his prime, Kendricks was an All-Pro linebacker who could track anybody down from sideline to sideline. His coverage grades were some of the best in football, and he was a movable chess piece in Zimmer’s defense.
But like many players on this roster, Kendricks started to show signs of decline. He ranked fourth among inside linebackers in overall defensive grades in 2020 but fell to 41st among 49 qualifying linebackers last season.
Occam’s razor says that Kendricks’s athleticism has tailed off heading into his age-30 season and that keeping him in zone coverage would help him become effective. That plan hasn’t worked, either. Kendricks ranks 74th among 92 qualifying linebackers in PFF’s coverage grades.
Then there is Hunter, who was on a Hall of Fame trajectory before back-to-back season-ending injuries. Hunter came up as a hand-in-the-dirt 4-3 lineman, but his freakish measurables had some wondering why he wasn’t used as a stand-up edge rusher.
The Vikings brought in an entirely new coaching staff to work with Hunter, including Mike Smith. Adding Za’Darius Smith also gave him an elder statesman to learn the ropes from, and it seemed like moving to the 3-4 started a new chapter in Hunter’s career.
Once again, that never materialized. Hunter got off to a quiet start but has seven sacks in 13 games. While he also ranks 10th among edge rushers with 49 pressures, something hasn’t felt right as he’s dropped back into coverage and away from the quarterback.
With all three players, a glimpse at their pedigree says this should work – especially considering the scheme’s success in Los Angeles and Denver. When you look at the talent on those rosters, though, it’s not the same as what the Vikings have now.
The Los Angeles Rams had a dominant defense, but impact players fueled it. Aaron Donald is a Hall of Fame defensive tackle, and Jalen Ramsey and Von Miller are also some of the league’s best players at their position.
The Denver Broncos thrived with Donatell as the defensive coordinator, but they were also loaded with Von Miller and Bradley Chubb as edge rushers. With Vic Fangio also calling defensive plays, it’s fair to question how much of Denver’s success was due to Donatell. It’s also fair to wonder if Donatell’s knowledge of the scheme isn’t as strong, given he’s a second-hand source.
That’s not to say that some players have thrived in the new system. Smith leads the NFL in pressures this season, and Dalvin Tomlinson has evolved into an effective pass rusher as a 3-tech. But there hasn’t been enough talent to bring this scheme to life – especially regarding the previous scheme.
Zimmer’s scheme wasn’t perfect, but it had been ingrained into the memory of several players O’Connell was inheriting. Instead of playing to their strengths as O’Connell has done with members of the Vikings’ offense, he asked the veteran players on the roster to learn a new bag of tricks. Unfortunately, the only one they’ve mastered is to roll over and play dead.
Donatell mentioned that the scheme is a process and that the players will get there. But time is running out. If the Vikings want to make a deep playoff run, they may have to ask themselves what suits their players.
