5 Colts players the Vikings should worry about in Week 2

DeForest Buckner – DT

This could be the Colts player that the Vikings should be the most concerned about this week. Earlier this year, Indianapolis traded their 2020 first-round pick to acquire DeForest Buckner from the San Francisco 49ers, and then they gave him a monster contract. They did this for good reason.

Buckner is simply a beast. This guy has 28.5 sacks, 39 tackles for a loss, 74 quarterback hits, 269 tackles, and three forced fumbles since he entered the NFL in 2016. He’s a versatile defender who can line up inside or out. The Colts will keep him lined up at defensive tackle against Minnesota and they would be fools not to.

The interior of the Vikings offensive line is their weak spot. While the line, as a whole, did better than many expected in Week 1, they did have one player who struggled. That was right guard Pat Elfelin, who gave up five pressures.

Minnesota announced on Thursday that Elflein has been placed on injured reserve, so he won’t be playing on Sunday. But if Indianapolis is wise, they will put Buckner right over Elflein’s replacement and take advantage of a potentially favorable matchup.

Buckner should have his way with whoever starts at right guard for the Vikings this week and could be a major disruptor to the timing of Minnesota’s offense.

To counter Buckner, the Vikings should keep an extra body on him as often as possible. If that means having fullback C.J. Ham be on the field more often than normal or having guys double-team him, something has to be done to neutralize this force in the middle of the Colts defensive line. If they can’t, Minnesota could find it awfully hard to move the ball this Sunday.