5 players the Vikings can’t afford to lose to injury in 2019

Linval Joseph – DT

The Vikings defense would be a shell of itself if it lost the Big Goon for multiple games in 2019. Linval Joseph is one of the best run-stuffers in the NFL. Joseph can anchor against basically any lineman he faces and he can eat up double teams, which allows his linebackers to get free.

If he were to go down in 2019, Minnesota’s run defense would suffer tremendously. At least with Shamar Stephen back in the fold this year, the Vikings are better off than they would’ve been a season ago.

Stephen is a top flight run defender himself, but the issue is who plays next to him. It would likely be some sort of rotation consisting of Jalyn Holmes, Jaleel Johnson, and possibly Armon Watts or Hercules Mata’afa.

While Stephen would be a suitable backup, he is still a major drop off from Joseph’s elite run-stuffing capabilities and teams would expose the unproven guys playing next to him.

Opposing offensive guards would have free reign at Minnesota’s linebackers and the middle would open up for the offense to attack. The Vikings’ defense relies upon and works with a healthy Linval Joseph in there. If he’s out, they become much, much less fierce.