Pass me that wrench: Fixing the D in 2022

[Ozzy]

48 minutes ago, NoDakViking said:

Also love Clark if they can get him in the 2nd after going corner in the 1st.  How about Luketa for that other OLB spot?  He played some edge and some stack LB so I think he could kill in that spot.

Yeah I like Luketa a lot as well, he showed some real explosive ability at the senior bowl and is a very good looking athlete with versatility as well like you said.  He could be a great 3rd or 4th round pick, could go higher if he works out well.  

[viking]

I think it could be a huge year for Armon Watts - 4th year pro going into a contract year who had 5 sacks with not a ton of help coming off the edge or from his fellow DTs (peirce and Tomlinson not really know for their pass rush ability).

 

The 6th rounder hasn't had a huge pay day yet in the NFL so I hope he thrives in the new scheme and earns himself some dollars.

 

If Hunter is healthy and if the Vikings add some  edge help in the draft/FA Watts could see that sack total increase with QBs needing to step up into the pocket

[SteelKing728]

The Will backer can be addressed around round 3, right? I'm not sure how much more important a 3-4 MLB is to a 4-3 one.

[Boda]

On 2/22/2022 at 2:21 PM, swede700 said:

Let's just say, as the roster exists right now (obviously, it'll change with free agency and the draft, but what would be the starting defense?

LDE:

NT:

RDE:

OLB (Joker):

ILB (Will):

ILB (Mike):

OLB (Sam):

CB1:

SS:

FS:

CB2:

LDE: Watts

NT: Tomlinson

RDE: Pierce

OLB (Joker): Hunter

ILB (Will): 

ILB (Mike): Kendricks

OLB (Sam): Wonnum

CB1: Dantzler

SS: Bynum

FS: Smith

CB2:

 

I think this defense has 2 huge holes and a couple others need to be upgraded or players to develop further. Obviously ILB & CB are the 2 major needs, Ideally both can and will be addressed in the draft my personal preferences would be Gardner or Stingley & Brandon Smith who hopefully falls to round 3(hopeful thinking).

Ideally I'd love if we could land Jermaine Johnson / Kaiir Elam / Brandon Smith in the draft 

[vikingsrule]

1 hour ago, Boda said:

LDE: Watts

NT: Tomlinson

RDE: Pierce

OLB (Joker): Hunter

ILB (Will): 

ILB (Mike): Kendricks

OLB (Sam): Wonnum

CB1: Dantzler

SS: Bynum

FS: Smith

CB2:

 

I think this defense has 2 huge holes and a couple others need to be upgraded or players to develop further. Obviously ILB & CB are the 2 major needs, Ideally both can and will be addressed in the draft my personal preferences would be Gardner or Stingley & Brandon Smith who hopefully falls to round 3(hopeful thinking).

Ideally I'd love if we could land Jermaine Johnson / Kaiir Elam / Brandon Smith in the draft 

I see two major holes at CB. Well maybe 3 considering they will play more nickel than base, which lessens the need for an extra LB. Edge has to be a concern too. Maybe adding a vet who knows the defense would be helpful. We don’t know how well Hunter will recover and I still don’t see Wonnum as anything more than an extra pass rusher. Struggle to see him as a starter. 
 

Don’t know how to feel about Watts, Pierce and Tomlinson up front. Stopping the run was a problem. Willa scheme change benefit these guys. 
 

So 3 CBs, an edge and LB. maybe another DT.  

[VikeManDan]

30 minutes ago, vikingsrule said:

Don’t know how to feel about Watts, Pierce and Tomlinson up front. Stopping the run was a problem. Willa scheme change benefit these guys. 

For what it is worth I posted on page 1 how few of snaps that Pierce and Tomlinson actually played together. It wasn't very many.

I'd also imagine that it would be Pierce at NT and Tomlinson at 5T.

[CriminalMind]

1 hour ago, VikeManDan said:

For what it is worth I posted on page 1 how few of snaps that Pierce and Tomlinson actually played together. It wasn't very many.

I'd also imagine that it would be Pierce at NT and Tomlinson at 5T.

I think moving on from Pierce may be s smart move, letting DT be the NT

[Boda]

4 hours ago, vikingsrule said:

I see two major holes at CB. Well maybe 3 considering they will play more nickel than base, which lessens the need for an extra LB. Edge has to be a concern too. Maybe adding a vet who knows the defense would be helpful. We don’t know how well Hunter will recover and I still don’t see Wonnum as anything more than an extra pass rusher. Struggle to see him as a starter. 
 

Don’t know how to feel about Watts, Pierce and Tomlinson up front. Stopping the run was a problem. Willa scheme change benefit these guys. 
 

So 3 CBs, an edge and LB. maybe another DT.  

Which is why I said a few others need to be upgraded. We simply can't fix everything in one offseason and thinking so is setting yourself up for a big time let down.  Right now they have players who can play but obviously have spots that need to be upgraded.  The two major holes were the 2 spots I left empty, we didn't go into Nickel situations and I only answered the question asked. I believe this team brings in a vet CB whether or not that be to re-sign Peterson or be someone else(Fuller is my preference).

If we're going off what we'd do then yes we need 2 CB's(Fuller & Gardner), 2 Edge(Barr & Jermaine Johnson), 1 DT(Hicks) & a LB(Brandon Smith)

Edited March 4, 2022 by Boda

[VikeManDan]

16 hours ago, CriminalMind said:

I think moving on from Pierce may be s smart move, letting DT be the NT

Moving on could be the smart move, as could retaining him IMO. We just haven't seen enough of him on the field as fans to justify the ROI.

When he was on the field he was very effective and is built for the 3-4 NT spot, I'd like to see him play at least one-year in the new defense. Here is the dead money and cap savings in '22 and '23; $4M/$6.5M and $2M/$9.5M. Pierce is a little ways down my list of contracts I'd be looking to rework to get cap compliant.

[VikeManDan]

13 hours ago, Boda said:

The two major holes were the 2 spots I left empty, we didn't go into Nickel situations and I only answered the question asked. I believe this team brings in a vet CB whether or not that be to re-sign Peterson or be someone else(Fuller is my preference).

I personally wouldn't be opposed to re-signing Mac and Peterson or re-signing Mac and adding Fuller. I can't imagine that Mac is looking at much more than the veteran minimum. Our CB's are in rough shape.

CB1-2: Peterson/Fuller/Dantzler
Nickel: Mac
CB4+: Boyd and Hand

Another Donatell option at nickel CB could be Bryce Callahan.

[viking]

39 minutes ago, VikeManDan said:

I personally wouldn't be opposed to re-signing Mac and Peterson or re-signing Mac and adding Fuller. I can't imagine that Mac is looking at much more than the veteran minimum. Our CB's are in rough shape.

CB1-2: Peterson/Fuller/Dantzler
Nickel: Mac
CB4+: Boyd and Hand

Another Donatell option at nickel CB could be Bryce Callahan.

Mac Alexander was one of the worst corners in the league last year - There shouldn't even be a conversation about bringing him back.

 

Peterson can be brought back if the price is right due to his experience

[Boda]

41 minutes ago, VikeManDan said:

I personally wouldn't be opposed to re-signing Mac and Peterson or re-signing Mac and adding Fuller. I can't imagine that Mac is looking at much more than the veteran minimum. Our CB's are in rough shape.

CB1-2: Peterson/Fuller/Dantzler
Nickel: Mac
CB4+: Boyd and Hand

Another Donatell option at nickel CB could be Bryce Callahan.

Callahan could definitely be an option and maybe someone Donatell would prefer over Mac.  I still don't think its out of the question that 2 CB's are brought in via FA(An older Vet on a 1yr deal who gets to compete with whoever the Vikings Draft) & a starting NCB.  Especially if everything said is true and this team believes they can compete.

I don't think cap space is going to be the problem many think so I just don't see that being an issue signing guys.

[vike daddy]

The consensus of experts this week at the NFL Scouting Combine was that the Vikings will be inclined to use the 12th overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft to help the defense.

It's not shocking to project Minnesota would quickly try to boost a unit that ranked 24th in scoring and 30th in yards allowed, as well as first downs gained by opponents in 2021. The 4,300 passing yards allowed ranked 28th, and the 29 passing touchdowns thrown by foes ranked 22nd.

The Vikings offset those to a degree by recording 51 sacks and 16 interceptions. The sacks total tied for the second most in one season by a Minnesota team (since 1982), matching the 1992 squad but ending 20 shy of the whopping 71 by the 1989 Vikings. The interceptions total was the second-highest since 2006 when Minnesota recorded 21 picks and was one shy of matching the 17 nabbed by the 2019 team.

Yet, there were too many times — particularly in the final two minutes of halves — when the pass rush couldn't affect quarterbacks at critical junctures, or the coverage wasn't good enough to prevent completions.

https://www.vikings.com/news/defense-pass-rush-2022-nfl-draft-combine

[SemperFeist]

In 2013, the Vikings’ defense ranked 31st in yards allowed, and 32nd in points allowed. In 2014, the Vikings’ defense ranked 14th in yards allowed, and 11th in points allowed.

Their defensive FA acquisitions in 2014 were Linval Joseph, Captain Munnerlyn, Tom Johnson, and Jasper Brinkley. While their defensive additions from the draft were Anthony Barr, Scott Crichton, Antone Exum, Shamar Stephen, Brandon Watts, and Jabari Price. 

 

It doesn’t have to take a lot to create a completely different outcome. 

[vikingsrule]

41 minutes ago, SemperFeist said:

In 2013, the Vikings’ defense ranked 31st in yards allowed, and 32nd in points allowed. In 2014, the Vikings’ defense ranked 14th in yards allowed, and 11th in points allowed.

Their defensive FA acquisitions in 2014 were Linval Joseph, Captain Munnerlyn, Tom Johnson, and Jasper Brinkley. While their defensive additions from the draft were Anthony Barr, Scott Crichton, Antone Exum, Shamar Stephen, Brandon Watts, and Jabari Price. 

 

It doesn’t have to take a lot to create a completely different outcome. 

Having great coaching goes a long way. Zimmer was thought of as an elite defensive coach in 2014. Donatell is nowhere near that level. He’s okay but brings a respected scheme with him. That 2014 team didn’t have a ton money tied to a QB either.