Aldon Smith – DE
This is surprising because it wasn’t that long ago that Aldon Smith‘s career in the NFL looked all but over. This guy was a great player from about 2011 to 2014 but missed four seasons due to off the field issues. He kind of came out of nowhere and signed with Dallas and has been a beast.
Smith has five sacks on the season with 37 tackles and three tackles for a loss. The 31-year-old veteran has been playing like a man that is out to prove something, and you’d never know he’d been out of the league for four years watching him on tape this year.
The Vikings have to take note of Smith’s resurgence. If they are focused on shutting down Demarcus Lawrence and sending double teams his way all game Smith could come out and bite them in the butt. The Vikings need to be fully cognizant that the Cowboys have two very good edge rushers and be ready for them on every snap of the football.
The Minnesota Vikings offensive line does appear to be up to the task with their recent performances. However, they have to be aware of both of these excellent pass rushers and game plan to neutralize them with either double teams or having Cousins take three-step drops, getting the ball out early.