Andrew Van Ginkel Named NFC Defensive Player of the Week

A well-deserved honor

In his first season with the Minnesota Vikings, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel has been a thorn in the side of everyone offensive coordinator that has had to line up against the Minnesota defense. He had a standout performance on Sunday in the victory over Seattle, and he was recognized for that today.

The National Football League has just announced that Van Ginkel has been named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Vikings’ 27-24 victory in Seattle in Week 16.

Van Ginkel recorded five tackles in Sunday’s win, including two quarterback sacks and two tackles for loss, along with three other quarterback hits. He is now one of two players in NFL history to record at least ten sacks (he’s now up to 11) and two pick-sixes in the same season, the other being Hall of Famer Jason Taylor.

This offseason, Van Ginkel signed a two-year deal to join the Vikings in free agency after starting his career with the Miami Dolphins. He’s now enjoying the best season of his career in the Brian Flores defense and, honestly, it might already be time to start looking into doing an extension with him. He’s certainly a player that the Vikings could build their defense around for the long term.

Van Ginkel is the second Minnesota player to win Defensive Player of the Week this season, as Jonathan Greenard took home the award back in Week 3.

Congratulations to Andrew Van Ginkel on being named the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 16 in the NFL!