The Minnesota Vikings will report to training camp this month, and fans will flock to TCO Performance Center with a whole bunch of questions.
The Vikings’ quarterback competition will take center stage for most fans who travel to Eagan, but another question fans will want answered is whether their front seven will be able to get after the passer.
The answer may be unclear after the first day of training camp as defenders are not allowed to tackle – let alone breathe on – the quarterbacks. But it might be the key to Brian Flores’s defense.
If the Vikings can’t get after the passer, it could leave them exposed on the back end and should be one thing fans are looking at when they’re not watching the quarterbacks in camp.
Pass rush is a major question for the Minnesota Vikings entering training camp
The Vikings’ front seven got an overhaul since the last time fans saw them in January. Free agent splashes Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave were released shortly before the start of the new year, and edge rusher Jonathan Greenard was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles after he requested a “market correction” on his contract, according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
In the case of Hargrave and Allen, the moves were necessary to clear up cap space. And in Greenard’s case, the Vikings have a younger, cheaper alternative in Dallas Turner. But according to PFF, that leaves Minnesota with 112 quarterback pressures and 12 sacks to replace in the front seven.
For some of that work, there will be some familiar faces. Andrew Van Ginkel battled injuries but was still productive with 25 pressures and seven sacks. Jalen Redmond is also an emerging talent as a down lineman, logging 31 pressures and six sacks.
Even Turner played better when moving to Greenard’s role with 42 pressures and eight sacks last season, but it won’t matter if someone else doesn’t step up.
Caleb Banks may have the biggest spotlight in the front seven after the Vikings took him with the 18th overall pick in April’s draft.
While he has the athleticism and upside, his productivity in college (60 pressures, seven sacks on 513 pass-rushing snaps) was modest at best, and he’s coming back from a foot injury that has limited him to 929 total snaps over five seasons.
Domonique Orange is another intriguing piece as a third-round pick, but his role could be focused on clearing the way for Blake Cashman, Eric Wilson, and second-round pick Jake Golday to make plays in the backfield with 55 pressures and one sack on 854 career pass-rushing snaps at Iowa State.
Free-agent pickup Isaiahh Loudermilk and incumbents Levi Drake Rodriguez, Elijah Williams and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins could also have a role.
There’s also a chance the Vikings could dive into the market one more time to add some depth in case of injury. But no matter who is on the field, Minnesota would benefit greatly from consistent pressure on the quarterback.
That’s because the Vikings’ secondary has even more questions. Harrison Smith is still deciding whether to return and may not show up until midway through the season.
If he doesn’t, Minnesota still has Josh Metellus but will rely on a group of unproven safeties including Theo Jackson, Jay Ward and third-round pick Jakobe Thomas.
The questions get even louder at the cornerback position. Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers will start. But the rest of the group, including James Pierre and fifth-round rookie Charles Demmings, could leave Minnesota with a fun trivia game in the stands called “Who is that?”
If the front seven can show some potential, it could tie everything together. If they can’t, it could have the Vikings’ defense struggling more than expected and perhaps ship-wreck what is expected to be a bounce-back campaign.
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