Josh Metellus has led the Vikings in tackles each of the past two seasons, but he may still be an underappreciated player in Minnesota.
Vikings do-it-all defender Josh Metellus is likely a household name around these parts, but outside of the state of Minnesota, there still seems to be some hesitancy to hold him in a higher regard amongst the league’s best defenders.
Take this recent piece from NFL.com where analyst Tom Blair picks one player from each of the 32 franchises that he considers to be underappreciated. For the Vikings, Blair picked the 27-year old Metellus who is now entering his third season as a full-time starter.
“With his impressive renovation of Minnesota’s defense over the past two seasons, Brian Flores has established himself as one of the most esteemed coordinators in football today,” says Blair. “But one of his key cogs hasn’t received the national shine he deserves. The Vikings’ second-leading tackler in each of the past two seasons, Metellus is the chess piece Flores moves all over the board. Just look at how Pro Football Focus charted his positional alignment from this past season:
Box: 512 snaps
Slot corner: 330 snaps
Free safety: 90 snaps
D-line: 63 snaps
Wide corner: 33 snaps
“Currently in the final year of his contract, Metellus feels like a prime extension candidate, given his Swiss Army Knife role in Flores’ attacking defense.”
Over the past two seasons since entering the starting lineup, Metellus has collected 219 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three interceptions, 10 pass breakups, five forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. He’s arguably been the steadiest presence on a defense that has been one the best and most ferocious in the league during his short time as a starter.
Following the additions of defensive tackles Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in free agency, I would not be surprised to see career seasons from multiple box defenders for the Vikings as the presence of the former two are likely to take up a lot more attention on a down-by-down basis. This means players like Metellus could be kept free more often, leading to more impact plays and clean runs through the line of scrimmage.
So what do you all think of Blair’s pick for an underappreciated Viking? Is Metellus the right call or do you think another member of the team could have been picked all the same? Let us know all of your thoughts below!
