New York Giants Week 1: A Look at the Minnesota Vikings Defense

The New York Giants will open the 2024 season, facing Brian Flores, the most aggressive defensive coordinator in the NFL last season.

The Vikings lack players on the interior who will create pressure on their own, but they do have big-bodied players who do their job: occupy offensive linemen.

The interior of the defensive line consists of Harrison Phillips as the nose tackle, with Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bullard listed as defensive ends, but both are more natural 3-techniques.

The edges are the strength of this defense, with three newly acquired pieces expected to significantly boost the pass rush.

Jonathan Greenard picked up 48 pressures in 15 games for the Houston Texans in 2023. He signed with the Vikings as a free agent this offseason.

The Vikings also signed Andrew Van Ginkel from the Miami Dolphins. Van Ginkel had 53 pressures last year but has struggled to secure tackles throughout his career.

Dallas Turner was a force at Alabama in 2023, picking up 50 pressures before opting out of the bowl game and declaring for the NFL Draft. The Vikings selected him 17th overall this past April.

Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr. are the starting inside linebackers. Both will be featured heavily, even though there will be times when only one of them is on the field.

The Vikings ran either Nickel or Dime defense on over 90% of their total defensive snaps in 2023. 

The starting secondary for the Vikings should be considerably improved over the 2023 product as well.

Byron Murphy Jr. returns as one of the starting cornerbacks, but free-agent addition Stephon Gilmore also joins the fray. 

Gilmore isn’t what he used to be a few years back, but even a Gilmore on the decline is better than an Akayleb Evans or Andrew Booth trying their best.

The safety room will once again list Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum as the starters, although Josh Metellus will also play often, likely as a nickel defender once again. 

Metellus is Flores’s chess piece, and he will use him as everything except a defensive tackle.

The Vikings will also break out a “Penny” front against. In that front, we’ll see the Vikings operate with five defensive backs out of nickel but maintain their five-man defensive front and just have one off-ball linebacker on the field.

In “Penny,” the Vikings will have a 9-3-0-3-5 or 5-3-0-3-9 look. Meaning that players will line up as a 9-technique, two 3-techniques, a 0-technique, and a 5-technique. A 0-technique is lined up directly over the center, 3-techniques are on the outside shoulder of the guards, and then a 5-technique is on the outside shoulder of the tackle while a 9-technique is on the outside shoulder of a tight end.

The Vikings consistently rush those five players along the line to try and create one-on-one matchups with offensive linemen.

With the large players on the interior, like Phillips, Bullard, and Tillery, all rushing, offenses are forced to either double-team the big bodies or deal with them one-on-one. Both options give the Vikings an advantage.

If offenses double-team the interior players, edge rushers are either in one-on-one situations or tight ends must stay in to block, taking away an offensive option.

If offenses don’t double-team the interior players, then those players have their own one-on-one opportunities.

Coverage-wise, the Vikings will play cover 0, cover 2, or cover 3 for most of their defensive snaps.

The Giants get the unfortunate task of facing an uber-aggressive Vikings defense with an improved roster throughout. 

Flores’ defense aims to force offenses to simplify and get the ball out quickly. There are no long-developing plays when five rushers are consistently coming your way.

Fortunately, the Giants practiced against a similarly aggressive defense in previous years under Wink Martindale and should hopefully be well-prepared to handle the rush.

I would look to the quick passing game mixed with perimeter screens and running back swing passes as the way to quickly get the ball into the hands of playmakers who can actually create after the catch.

It’s unlikely to be a very effective rushing day for the Giants, but using the quick game as an extension of the run should help keep the sticks moving and give Daniel Jones some early confidence.