Will the Vikings’ defense be better or worse in 2019?

Everyone is healthy

The Vikings’ defense was bitten hard by the injury bug last year. Guys like Xavier Rhodes, Everson Griffen, and Anthony Barr missed time or were playing injured for large portions of the season. In 2019, these guys will all be back at 100 percent and ready to roll.

Rhodes didn’t seem like himself last year. He was giving up receptions at a much more frequent rate and he wasn’t anywhere near the shutdown corner he has been in the recent past.

Rhodes suffered ankle and groin injuries in 2018 and it seemed like he rushed coming back before he was ready to go. Toughing it out was admirable, but he was often a liability in coverage.

Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer seemed overly hard on Rhodes’ injury problems last year and he assured the media time and time again that he was fine. Whatever the case, the veteran Vikings corner has had a full offseason to recover and he should be back to normal for the 2019 season.

Griffen had to take some time off last year to work on his mental health. He ended up missing about six games and that really hurt his production last season.

Griffen only had 5.5 sacks and he didn’t seem to have the same get-off or explosion out of his stance that he usually does. The veteran pass rusher is also coming off a contract restructure, which should light a fire under his buttocks. That combined with being healthy could equal a big season for ol’ No. 97.

Barr didn’t play great in 2018 and a lot of that had to do with his hamstring injury. These injuries are always slow healers and while guys can come back after missing a few games, they just never seem to be the same.

Barr is not only is coming back healthy this season, but he will want to prove to everyone that he is worth the money the Vikings shelled out to him this year and he could be extra motivated to produce at a high level.