Who has the edge as the Vikings third linebacker in 2020?
By Luke Parrish
Why Wilson will get the job
Everything is in Eric Wilson’s advantage as things stand prior to training camp. He has become a bigger part of the defense in each of his three seasons and is a vital special teams piece in Minnesota. He received 35 percent of the defensive snaps and 66 percent of special teams snaps in 2019.
Wilson started six games for the Vikings last season while making an impact in the games he played the most. He played every defensive snap in two games last year – against the Oakland Raiders in Week 3 and the Chicago Bears in Week 17. In those two starts, Wilson recorded a total of 23 tackles, four tackles for loss, and three sacks.
He finished the season by playing 48 snaps of Minnesota’s playoff loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Wilson recorded 10 tackles in the final game of the season, giving the Vikings a reason to bring him back.
The biggest factor in all of this is that Wilson understands the system, while rookie Troy Dye has been limited by the pandemic that is keeping teams from practicing. No rookie camps or OTAs may hurt some of the first-year players enough to keep them sidelined for the early portion of the season.
After a strong season and a new contract, Wilson appears to be the situational linebacker that we are accustomed to.