When he took control of the Minnesota Vikings’ roster in 2022, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah inherited a rapidly aging defense. Once one of the best units in the NFL from 2017 to 2019, the Vikings’ defense had been poor in the previous two seasons, thanks in part to various players suffering injuries. Franchise cornerstones like Harrison Smith (33 at the start of 2022), Eric Kendricks (30), Anthony Barr (30), and Everson Griffen (35), and relatively recent additions in Dalvin Tomlinson (28), Sheldon Richardson (31), Michael Pierce (29), and Patrick Peterson (32) were on the decline and generally pretty expensive.
In that first offseason, Adofo-Mensah let most defensive free agents walk (Richardson and Griffen never played again, while Barr eventually landed with the Dallas Cowboys) with the exception of Peterson, who he brought back on a Band-Aid deal. He also cut Pierce, bringing in the then-26-year-old Harrison Phillips to replace him. He also brought in outside players like Jordan Hicks (30), Chandon Sullivan (26), and Za’Darius Smith (30) on short-term deals to shore up the defense with limited cap space to work with. These were clearly meant to be stopgaps, as the Vikings went defense-heavy in the draft, taking Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth Jr., and Brian Asamoah with their first three picks.
While those moves didn’t necessarily work out, Adofo-Mensah furthered his intent to get younger in the 2023 offseason. They moved on from Kendricks, Tomlinson, Za’Darius Smith, and Peterson, adding younger players in Byron Murphy Jr. (25 in 2023) and Marcus Davenport (27). The Vikings went from having five starters on defense over 30 in 2022 (both Smiths, Peterson, Hicks, and Kendricks) to just two (Smith and Hicks) in 2023.
Nothing is technically official yet, but it appears that Adofo-Mensah has completed his defense overhaul in 2023. While ink can’t be put to paper until 3 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, the Vikings have made three major moves on defense, landing Jonathan Greenard, Blake Cashman, and Andrew Van Ginkel.
The signings also mean that Danielle Hunter, who is turning 30 this season, will likely not return to the Vikings, and Minnesota’s defensive overhaul will be complete. Of the 2021 starters, only Harrison Smith remains, and the team could still move on from him to create cap space.
Greenard, who will be 27 for the entire 2024 season, is coming off of his rookie deal, while Cashman (28 for the 2024 season) and Van Ginkel (29 this year) turned modest second contracts into strong free-agent deals. The signings fill three of Minnesota’s needs, but more signings on the defensive side of the ball may come as the Vikings still have a need at IDL and potentially CB.
Details of each contract remain to be seen, but this appears to be the first time Adofo-Mensah has dipped heavily into the FA market. That makes sense given Kirk Cousins’ departure and the fact that the team had more cap space than in years past, but it’s still notable. Previously, deals for players like Byron Murphy, Marcus Davenport, and Za’Darius Smith were bargains for players who had performed well in the past but had dealt with significant injuries the season before they hit the free-agent market.
But Greenard, Cashman, and Van Ginkel flip that narrative. These players each had breakout seasons in 2023. Greenard recorded 12.5 sacks; Cashman crossed 100 total tackles while playing 657 snaps, which was more than he played in his first four seasons; and Van Ginkel recorded a career-high six sacks with a stunning 91.1 PFF grade on the season.
All three players have injury histories, with Greenard and Cashman missing a couple of games last year, Greenard’s significant ankle injury in 2022, and Cashman’s hamstring injury in 2020. Van Ginkel ended 2023 with a broken foot in the Week 18 game against the Buffalo Bills.
As far as roles on Minnesota’s defense, Greenard profiles as a Danielle Hunter replacement. At 6’3″, 263 lbs., with nearly 35″ arms, he has great length and tested with solid athleticism at the combine. He’s a stout run defeo really came on as a pass rusher in 2023. Greenard had the benefit of playing alongside rookie star Will Anderson, so it will be interesting to see how he adapts to being the primary rusher on a team. Greenard may not be as good as Hunter right now, but the Vikings are betting that he will continue to ascend while Hunter ages and may begin to decline.
Van Ginkel will be Minnesota’s other edge rusher across from Greenard. He has significant experience with DC Brian Flores, who was the head coach in Miami who drafted Van Ginkel in 2019 and played him in the hybrid pass rush/coverage role that D.J. Wonnum occupied last year. Van Ginkel has a great athletic profile for this role and should fit like a glove in the Vikings’ defense.
Finally, Cashman profiles as a do-everything off-ball linebacker. Ivan Pace Jr. is Minnesota’s only linebacker with experience, and he was a rookie last year. Pace is still finding his way in coverage, so I really like the idea of pairing him with Cashman, who has strong coverage chops and great athleticism at the position. He is also willing to stick his nose in against the run and should be a major addition as a replacement for Jordan Hicks.
Overall, the Vikings got better on defense through the early part of free agency and noticeably younger. Greenard may be a little downgrade from Hunter, but Van Ginkel is an improvement on Wonnum, as is Cashman on Hicks. Adofo-Mensah has had the opportunity to put together the roster vision he believes in on the defensive side of the ball, and I’m excited to see how it performs in 2024 and beyond.
