Normally when looking back at top NFL teams and how they got to be that way, the focus is on how the team drafted. But for the Vikings this season, their early success owes a lot to their 2024 free agent class than any particular draft class.
Sam Darnold, Aaron Jones, Andrew Van Ginkel, Jonathan Greenard, Blake Cashman, Stephon Gilmore, and Shaq Griffin are all starters, while Jerry Tillery and Jihad Ward have made significant contributions, and even Kamu Grugier-Hill added two interceptions.
Overall, that’s ten players- 20% of the roster- that have made significant contributions and/or provided a significant upgrade over their predecessor last season. And while none of them are locks to be All-Pros so far this season, the starters are all looking at least average or better and none of them look to be poor signings at this point. And the headline signings could end up with top ten or Pro Bowl-caliber seasons- and maybe more.
But even more than that, these players have been enablers for both Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores, allowing them to get more from the Vikings’ offense and defense. Let’s take a look at each one individually and how they add to the team.
QB Sam Darnold
Darnold came to the Vikings with a reputation that maybe he could be good if he was put into a strong situation, which he was in Minnesota, and that has allowed him to have his best season so far as a starting quarterback. Darnold has shown that he can distribute the ball and make the throws at all levels of the field. He also has the mobility to escape the pocket and pick up the occasional first down with his feet. He’s been excellent in the early going in each game so far, enabling the Vikings to jump to early leads, and has also been able to put together scoring drives late after the lead narrowed. He’s still maintained his career average in turnovers per game (one) but has been more accurate with his passes so far this season than his career average outside of the Jets game. All that has allowed the Vikings to be the sixth-ranked offense in points scored with the tenth-best yards per pass attempt.
Darnold has also done very well against the blitz, compiling a 132.1 passer rating on 30 pass attempts- second-best in the league among starting quarterbacks so far this season.
RB Aaron Jones
The addition of Aaron Jones has given the Vikings a credible run game and helped the Vikings’ offense stay ahead of the chains. Jones has been successful on over 60% of his rush attempts (defined as 40% of yards needed on first down, 60% on second down, 100% on third or fourth down) and has also been productive as a receiver and has helped the Vikings get their screen game going.
Being able to run the ball more effectively has been a goal of Kevin O’Connell’s the past two off-seasons, and Jones has been the one to help him realize that goal. Doing so enables the Vikings to be more balanced on offense, which in turn helps keep defenses honest and takes a little off the plate of Sam Darnold. It also allows the Vikings to play a more physical game offensively, with offensive linemen delivering the blows in the ground game instead of mostly absorbing them in the pass game.
Even in the more unfavorable situations- when the defense has stacked the box (8+ defenders)- Jones has generally done well outside goal line situations as a rusher.
EDGE Andrew Van Ginkel
Van Ginkel has proven to be something of an X-factor in Brian Flores’ defense. His versatile skill set as a pass rusher, run defender, and ability to drop in coverage makes him a perfect match for Flores’ scheme and doubtless a key reason the Vikings acquired him in free agency.
But Van Ginkel’s X-factor comes from his football intelligence, preparation, ability to read plays presnap, and command of the Flores defensive scheme. On any given play, Van Ginkel may play set an edge in run defense, pass rush off the edge, twist, or drop into coverage. He’s credited with 13 tackles so far- 11 of which were stops (8th most among edge rushers), meaning a negative play for the opposing offense. He also has 14 quarterback pressures including three sacks, and of course the two pick-sixes that provided enormous value. And he almost had a third against the 49ers. Both of Van Ginkel’s interceptions he anticipated based on film study and his reading the offensive play call.
Opposing quarterbacks and offenses need to be aware of where Van Ginkel is on the field or risk an unpleasant surprise, whether he shows up in the backfield or as an unexpected defender suddenly blocking a passing window and turning what might have been a routine dump off into a big play for the Vikings’ defense.
Overall, Van Ginkel has established himself as a potent X-factor with play-making ability that has contributed to a Vikings’ defense that ranks first in EPA/play.
EDGE Jonathan Greenard
Greenard has been the workhorse when it comes to quarterback pressures for the Vikings so far this season. His 29 pressures (four sacks) rank second in the league in that category after five weeks. He’s also outpaced Danielle Hunter in that regard so far this season.
But generating quarterback pressures in Brian Flores’ defensive scheme is a group effort that isn’t centered around one pass rusher. The Vikings lead the league in quarterback pressures (partly a product of having the most passing plays run against them) and have the 8th highest pressure rate according to NextGenStats. The Lions, by contrast, have Aiden Hutchinson who leads the league by far with the most pressures but as a team, rank just 28th in quarterback pressure rate.
Below is an example of the team working to get a free rusher.
The Vikings low-key overload the right side beginning with Jihad Ward and Josh Mettelus in the A gaps to occupy the center and left guard. Blake Cashman penetrates to blowup the back while Jonathan Greenard occupies the tackle. The tight end goes out on a route leaving Harrison Smith unblocked, resulting in Smith’s 20th career sack.
I don’t know how PFF graded Greenard on this snap (the Vikings have the 5th lowest team pass rush grade) but he did his assignment by occupying the tackle. He didn’t waste energy with it, which was fine, as he knew the play design. Smith probably didn’t get as positive a grade as sacks when the defender goes unblocked don’t grade as high. Nevertheless, this example of pass rushers working together within the scheme to gain a free rusher, as opposed to moving a top pass rusher to a favorable matchup, has proven very effective.
LB Blake Cashman
Cashman is the defensive play-caller and versatile three-down linebacker- the emphasis on versatile. Cashman has the most pass rushing snaps and third-most coverage snaps among linebackers in the league so far. In addition to being in the top ten in quarterback pressures (6) and batted passes (1), he’s also top ten in passer rating when targeted in coverage (81.5) and third in snaps per reception allowed (15.9). And he has 14 stops (defensive wins) despite just 85 snaps in run defense (5th fewest among starters) which is when most stop opportunities occur for linebackers.
CB Stephon Gilmore
Stephone Gilmore has solidified one of the Vikings’ outside cornerback spots. He’s not the defensive MVP he once was, but he doesn’t give up much either. He’s only allowed four completions over 15 yards in five games and no touchdowns and one interception. That’s equated to just a 69.4 passer rating when targeted, which is excellent.
Gilmore also seems to have picked up Brian Flores’ scheme pretty fast, which may have some similarities to what Flores ran in New England, but is likely to be significantly updated. Gilmore still appears to have the speed to keep up with younger receivers and isn’t one to get beat much one-on-one on deep routes outside the numbers. If there’s a weakness to his game right now, it’s more inconsistent tackling.
CB Shaq Griffin
If Stephon Gilmore has been good for the Vikings, Shaq Griffin has been even better. He’s given up just a 49.1 passer rating when targeted (sixth best among starters) and ranks ninth in snap per reception allowed at 18.4. He’s given up a total of 77 receiving yards so far, with one touchdown and one interception. He’s allowed just two receptions over ten yards so far- one on a missed tackle and the other I’m not sure he was responsible for the coverage having passed the receiver off to a safety. Below are his targets.
DTs Jihad Ward & Jerry Tillery
Neither of these guys are going to compile great stats this season, but so far they’re doing better than who they replaced last season (Pat Jones II and Dean Lowry) and neither are liabilities.
Ward is an edge rusher that Flores plays inside on passing downs to generate some pass rush and also potentially create a lane for another rusher to generate pressure on the quarterback. Tillery is used in the same way and can be effective in that role, especially on twists as a more athletic defensive tackle.
Ward has 14 quarterback pressures so far this season on 135 pass rush snaps, while Tillery has 8 on 97 pass rush snaps and 3 stops. Nothing earth-shattering here, but decent ancillary performance doing the dirty work inside that can also help others generate pressure.
LB Kamu Hill-Grugier
Hill-Grugier hasn’t had many snaps, but in the two games he filled in for Ivan Pace Jr., he had two interceptions and a pass break-up. He also has four stops and forced a holding penalty that negated a 23-yard run against the Packers. All that in just sixty snaps played defensively so far.
Hill-Grugier is also a core special teamer, although he hasn’t graded as well this year due to two penalties- holding and running into the kicker.
He’s not a young guy anymore at age 30, but the Hawaiian native has shown if nothing else that he can be a decent core special teamer and provides good depth at backup linebacker when called upon.
Bottom Line
The Vikings have the top defense in EPA/play and DVOA by a big margin not just because of Brian Flores’ updated scheme this season- although that has a lot to do with it. It’s also because he’s got the players to make the scheme work- which he didn’t have last season. That has produced better results both up front and in the secondary in the passing game, while still improving in run defense- which was pretty good last season.
Follow me on X @wludford
Poll
Has there been a better free agent class for the Vikings than this year?
-
1%
Yes (describe in comments)
(2 votes)
-
98%
No
(123 votes)
125 votes total
Vote Now
