Analysis: Vikings’ investments in defense are paying off in depth, endurance and versatility

A year ago, as the Vikings pieced together a defense they hoped would be a modest improvement on their porous 2022 unit, they did it with a relatively small circle of players they could trust.

Over the course of the 17-game season, the Vikings used defensive players in part-time or rotational roles less than just about any team in the league. They had just 246 instances in 2023 where a defender was on the field for at least 20% of their snaps; that total was the lowest in the league. Four players (Josh Metellus, Camryn Bynum, Harrison Smith and Danielle Hunter) played at least 1,000 snaps; that total was the most in the league. Byron Murphy Jr. missed three games, but still played 908 snaps for the season, rarely leaving the field when he was healthy.

It happened as the Vikings leaned on their veterans to improve from 28th to 13th in the NFL in points allowed, but it meant they had little versatility and few opportunities to rest fatigued players. This offseason, they went after defensive reinforcements as soon as they could.

They agreed to terms with Blake Cashman, Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel on the first day of the free agency negotiating window, adding five more defenders in the first week of the league year. They traded up for edge rusher Dallas Turner in the first round of the draft, took two more defenders (Khyree Jackson and Levi Drake Rodriguez) and added three undrafted free agents (Taki Taimani, Jalen Redmond and Dwight McGlothern) who made their 53-man roster. In training camp, the Vikings added five more defensive backs, including former Pro Bowl corner Stephon Gilmore on a one-year contract.

The swift action helped offset the meager contributions of the Vikings’ 2022 and 2023 draft classes to the defense. And in the Vikings’ first two wins, a deeper defense has allowed the third-fewest points in the league.

The Vikings had 16 different defenders who played at least a quarter of their snaps in Week 1 against the Giants. That number was the same in Week 2 against the 49ers. For the season, the Vikings’ 32 player games from defenders who played at least 25% of their snaps is tied for the sixth most in the league.

It’s meant players can stay fresher, or maximize their productivity in specific personnel groups or situations. Through two weeks, the Vikings can point to significant contributions from some of their bit players.

Patrick Jones II, a fourth-year edge rusher who appeared to be buried on the depth chart, has four sacks in two games while playing less than 50% of the time in both games. Jihad Ward had two quarterback hits and a fumble recovery in 17 snaps on Sunday, while Taimani played an important role against the run in 13 snaps. Though Turner played only 18 snaps on Sunday, he had a pair of pressures on San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy.

“We had five [defensive] linemen up for the interior yesterday for a reason, and all those guys had an impact,” O’Connell said Monday. He then mentioned 10 other defenders by name — linebackers and defensive backs — to note the team’s "depth at a lot of positions.”

“Really happy with the way ‘Flo’ is using our personnel, and how our coaches are being involved in communicating subs,” O’Connell added. “It looks very coordinated and clean.”

In his postgame speech to the team after its season-opening win against the Giants, O’Connell praised the Vikings’ conditioning. He did so again in his news conference on Monday, after a week where the Vikings prepared for a physical 49ers team with two of their hardest practices of the regular season.

”I thought we had one of our best Wednesday-Thursday combinations of practices since I’ve been here,” O’Connell said. “I thought we took advantage of having an extra day [on the 49ers, who played Monday night]. I thought we took advantage of the fact that it was a noon home game, 10 a.m. for them, a short week for them. I thought we needed to use that time to prepare, with physical practices, and we grinded pretty good.

“Now, as the attrition of the season goes, that’s the discipline of it. I’ve said it before: discipline is not me waving my finger around, pointing at a bunch of rules on the wall. Discipline is the players understanding what it’s going to take to win the game.”

Their defensive depth, though, puts the Vikings in better position to handle the workload than they were last year, when they allowed 30 points per game in four consecutive season-ending losses that cost them a playoff spot. They have an early bye after their trip to London; they come back with an Oct. 20 home game against the Lions, then fly to the West Coast for a Thursday night game against the Rams. They’ll be on the road three consecutive weeks in November; they’ll take another West Coast trip to Seattle in December between three NFC North games In the final four weeks.

”I’m thinking about a lot of those things,” O’Connell said. “But I also believe if you do it enough early, it’ll be ingrained in who we are as a team. I’m always going to be cognizant of the sports science and what’s the best thing for our players. The game [on Sunday] was physical, but I also felt like our guys were playing fast. It was a warm day; I think everybody in there was feeling that a little bit. I was proud of our conditioning, and that kind of goes back to snap counts and having the depth that we need. It was a very nice indicator of where I wanted us to be at this point in time.”

Endurance could be a late-season benefit of the Vikings’ investment; the multiplicity they used against the defending NFC champions on Sunday was an early-season perk.

“When it’s time to send pressure and be aggressive, we’ll do it, and we know that’s going to work. But it doesn’t take that every single play,” Bynum said. “Being able to mix it up and do different things made us successful today.”

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