5 strongest positions on the 2019 Minnesota Vikings

3. Defensive End

The Vikings defense revolves around creating pressure up front and the team currently has three guys who can do just that.

Danielle Hunter is a freak and he has performed better and better during every single season. Hunter’s size, and speed are off the charts and he is already at the point where he is considered to be amongst the league’s best pass rushers.

What makes him so great, is that he isn’t just a good pass rusher, but he can also stop the run. Hunter is still young, so Minnesota can look forward to many more seasons of elite pass rushing from him.

Next to Hunter is the wily old veteran Everson Griffen. Griffen is coming off of a down season that saw him miss five games. However, the time he missed was needed in order to improve his mental health. Griffen should bounce back in 2019 and he still has the talent to be a double-digit sack artist.

Stephen Weatherly‘s emergence in 2018 is a major reason why the defensive end group has to be considered one of the Vikings’ strongest positions heading into the upcoming season.

Weatherly took over for Griffen when he was out and he played very well. He had three sacks during a six-game stretch and he was very stout against the run. Weatherly could potentially end up seeing more overall snaps in 2019 as part of a rotation with Griffen.

Minnesota’s depth after the top three at this position is a bit murky. Tashawn Bower made the team a year ago, but he’s no lock to do so in 2019. There are also returning guys like Ade Aruna and Ifeadi Odenigbo who are big question marks.

That being said, the top of the Vikings’ defensive end depth chart is right up there with any team in the NFL and it is clearly one of the strongest positions on the entire team.