Top 5 Vikings defensive pressure leaders since 2018

Which Minnesota Vikings have put the most pressure on opposing quarterbacks in the past two seasons?

Before we go over which current and former Minnesota Vikings players have generated the most pressure since 2018, there are a few disclaimers we must discuss before diving into this list.

First, this is based on pressures per snaps played since the 2018 season. Second, this is not a power ranking of best defensive players to play for the Vikings during the last two years.

A sack, a hurry, or a quarterback knockdown all count as a defensive pressure. The number of defensive snaps each player has taken in the last two years is this then used as the denominator in this calculation. Alas, a percentage of pressures per snap is created.

To disallow stretches of play that some might interpret as a fluke, a 350-defensive snap minimum parameter was assessed in the metric. Also, players who left Minnesota prior to the 2019 season were not included. This is mentionable because Sheldon Richardson and Tom Johnson would have snuck into the top five, if so.

Some honorable mentions who did not make the top five include Jaleel Johnson (1.19 percent), Anthony Barr (1.09 percent), Linval Joseph (0.98 percent), and Eric Kendricks (0.71 percent).

What’s more, had the minimum snap count been smaller, Armon Watts (1.65 percent) and Jalyn Holmes (1.52 percent) would round out the top 10.

So let’s not waste any more time and get to which five players actually did end generating the most pressures per snap for the Vikings since 2018.