5 Seahawks players the Vikings should worry about in Week 5

Poona Ford – DT

Poona Ford isn’t a nationally known player but he’s certainly someone the Vikings remember from a season ago. Ford is a short, stocky player who has plenty of speed and power and excels and shutting down the opposing team’s running attack.

Ford gave Garrett Bradbury all he could handle in last year’s matchup. He overpowered the young center on just about every snap and pushed him into the backfield. That disruption caused the Vikings’ run game to falter and put Cook on one of his worst performances of the 2019 season, as he rushed for just 27 yards.

Poona’s stats don’t really tell the story of the impact he has on an offense. His 7 tackles on the season and 3 tackles for a loss in 4 games don’t scream elite run defender, but he does so much that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet. Whether that is collapsing the pocket, plugging running lanes, or consistently wearing down the center, Ford is a beast who is a huge asset to the Seahawks front seven.

The good news for the Minnesota Vikings is that Bradbury is much-improved from a season ago and that time in the weight room in the offseason has helped him better anchor against strong powerful nose tackles like Poona Ford. So perhaps there’s a chance we don’t see a repeat of last season’s domination.