The Minnesota Vikings’ run defense has been a sore spot this season. The Defensive Interior, for the most part, has not performed up to expectations. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah invested heavily in a few high-priced, but oft injured, defensive linemen this past offseason. Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave have not lived up to their contracts. PFF has them ranked 88th and 103rd for interior defenders, respectively. The Vikings boast the 8th best pass defense (188.0 yards per game), but the 9th worst run defense (130.4 yards per game).
Despite all of the negative, there has been a bright spot on defense. Jalen Redmond, the 3rd year man out of Oklahoma, has performed exceedingly above expectations. PFF has him ranked as the 15th interior defender (out of 125). Redmond had an impressive 9 pressures in Week 8. He ranks 10th for interior defenders with 21 pressures for the season. He also made the play to give the Vikings a chance at a comeback against the Chargers. Nothing came to fruition, but plays like that can win games when they’re close.
If his running mates can match Redmond’s production, this defensive line is in good shape. The Minnesota Vikings season really starts now. It’s J.J. McCarthy’s team, for better or worse. Brian Flores’ defense is going to need to help make that as easy as possible. If they are going to be able to make that happen, they will need more from the defensive front. All it takes is for the highly paid free agent acquisitions to match the production of the former XFL NT playing next to them.
Jalen Redmond
- Run Defense Grade: 66.6 (30th/125)
- Overall: 76.1 (15th/125)
- Pass Rush Grade: 79.6 (9th/125)
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