Vikings training camp preview: defensive line

We're taking a look at each Vikings position group as training camp gets underway this week. Next up: defensive line.

Defensive ends: Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard, James Lynch, Dean Lowry, Esezi Otomewo, Ross Blacklock, Junior Aho.

Nose tackles: Khyiris Tonga, Jaquelin Roy, Sheldon Day, Calvin Avery, T.J. Smith.

In: Lowry (free agent), Aho (undrafted rookie), Roy (fifth-round draft pick), Avery (undrafted rookie).

Out: DE Dalvin Tomlinson (Browns)

There isn't a head-turning talent at the position, and last year's most disruptive player, Tomlinson, bolted when Cleveland made an offer he couldn't refuse. However, that doesn't mean the Vikings don't have the potential to hold their own up front with the steady, durable Lowry coming over from Green Bay; the young, promising and sturdy Tonga hoping to seize an opportunity to start; and Phillips returning healthier than he was while playing through a foot injury all last season. Tonga, a 2021 seventh-round pick of the Bears, has only four career starts, two with the Vikings last year. He has the frame and strength to help stop the run and keep blockers off undersized first-year starting linebacker Brian Asamoah.

Tomlinson's 30 quarterback pressures were a team-high among the D-linemen last year. Phillips, who has worked at end and nose tackle in practice so far, had 24 pressures and a career-high 1 ½ sacks but has yet to prove himself as a consistent rusher. Lowry has only 15½ sacks in seven seasons, but he has 80 career starts and has missed only three games in his career.

Bullard played 12 games with seven starts and 319 snaps for the Vikings last year. Lynch played 15 games with two starts and 276 snaps, while Blacklock (139 snaps), Otomewo (89 snaps as a rookie) and Smith (22 snaps) also saw playing time.

Nose tackle. Tonga will be given first crack at winning the starting job since he's played 26 NFL games and is three years into developing NFL-caliber strength. Roy, however, might prove to be the quickest, most slippery interior lineman the Vikings have. He has the versatility to play end or nose in this defense, and the Vikings have been using him at both spots early in camp.

Roy. The fifth-round draft pick has an opportunity to make an immediate impact on a unit that's starving for someone with the quickness and upper body strength to be a penetrating one-gap menace when called on. He showed that type of talent at LSU, but some have questioned whether he will have the overall strength to hold his own against NFL double teams.

Can this unit pressure the quarterback? There will be times when defensive coordinator Brian Flores moves an edge rusher inside and goes with three of them in passing situations. All teams do that to generate extra pressure when they can't get it from their base front. But Flores would love to get some of those disruptive plays from his linemen. Tomlinson wasn't great, but he did cause some unexpected interior havoc, occasionally. Can a healthier Phillips bring more pressure? Is Lowry capable of stepping that part of his game up in a more aggressive scheme? Can Roy give Flores and the Vikings the burst of energy they envisioned when they drafted him on Day 3?