Vikings beat writer points to inevitable looming change in Brian Flores' defense

When they had the financial resources to do so, aka when the annual contract albatross Kirk Cousins hung over the balance sheet was gone, the Minnesota Vikings invested in Brian Flores' defense with some notable free agent signings in 2024.

One of those free agent signings was clearly hand-picked by Flores. Andrew Van Ginkel was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 2019, Flores' first year as the head coach there. They overlapped for three seasons in Miami before Flores was fired, including Van Ginkel starting 25 games over the final two seasons they were together.

Van Ginkel earned the first Pro Bowl nod of his career in his first season as a Viking, but a career-high 11.5 sacks did not tell anywhere close to the full story of his impact. He had a tied for team-high 18 tackles for loss, along with playing more coverage snaps than any other edge rusher by far that season (212, according to Pro Football Focus).

One of Van Ginkel's two pick-sixes in 2024, off Aaron Rodgers in London, was a mental and physical clinic, deserving of repeated views to see how much grass he covered to make the play.

Van Ginkel has posted at least an 81.0 PFF coverage grade in each of the last three seasons. He wasn't quite as impactful overall last season, due in large part to missing five games, but he still had seven sacks, 11 tackles for loss, an interception, and 10 pass breakups.

A Minnesota Vikings beat writer forecasts looming change to Brian Flores' defense

On a recent episode of "The Real Forno Show" on the "Vikings 1st and SKOL" YouTube channel, Tyler Forness of AtoZ Sports talked about second-round pick linebacker Jake Golday as a perfect fit for Flores' defense due to the alignment versatility he had in college.

But as far as Golday being a replica of (or eventual replacement for) Van Ginkel, which frankly is easy to see as Van Ginkel heads into a contract year, Forness is not as convinced, and the core reason why is clear.

"I think the Van Ginkel role itself is one that's probably going to be phased out of this defense once Van Ginkel is gone" Forness said. "Or, unless they can find somebody who can fill it."

"Because it's hard to be Van Ginkel. It's hard to be an edge rusher who then is great off the ball and really good in coverage. Instinctual in coverage, which is hard enough to do when you play the position full-time, let alone a guy who's only playing it part-time. That in itself is intriguing for the long-term perspective of this defense."

Golday has drawn a flattering comparison to former Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr, who was versatile in his own right as a core piece of Mike Zimmer's defenses on his way to earning four Pro Bowl selections.

It's just that Van Ginkel is versatile in a way that is uniquely his own, equally able to get after the passer as an edge rusher and shut things down in coverage as an off-ball linebacker would. That will not be easily replaced when the time comes.

So Forness is absolutely right to suggest the "Van Ginkel role" in Flores' defense won't, and truly can't, be replaced at all.

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