4 players that must step up for the Vikings in the 2022 season
By Luke Parrish
Jordan Hicks – LB
Linebacker is one of the most interchangeable positions in the NFL and the Vikings have one of the best in the league in Eric Kendricks. That would seem to be a recipe for success with one proven leader of the group and a handful of rotational players stepping in and trying to just avoid disaster.
Unfortunately, whichever linebackers lined up next to Kendricks, disaster seemed to strike. Dating back to the Christmas Day game in 2020 against the Saints, there has been a glaring issue in the middle of the defense.
Even prior to that showing, the Vikings were susceptible to getting pounded in the run game and it cost them plenty of games over the past two years. Jordan Hicks can be a veteran that comes in and changes things for the better.
He will not be asked to be some game-altering linebacker that wrecks the game in all phases of the defense. Hicks is simply a proven veteran that can tackle at the point of attack, limit the big plays on the ground, and be a significant upgrade over Blake Lynch, Troy Dye, and Chazz Surratt.
Hicks is going to have his defined role and that should be enough to keep things from getting ugly in the run game. The Vikings have beefed up the interior defensive line for a few years just for the second level to blow assignments.
Harrison Phillips and Dalvin Tomlinson will plug some holes so Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks can rack up tackles and stop the run all season. That should be a joy to watch after the mess this team produced the past two years.