The Minnesota Vikings made no secret of what they were trying to accomplish this offseason: beef up their team from the middle out on both sides of the ball. Injuries to four of their five starting offensive linemen mean the jury’s still out on that project. Unfortunately, the verdict is in on Minnesota’s investments in the defensive line: They’ve kinda fizzled.
Part of the team’s calculation in rolling with J.J. McCarthy over Sam Darnold after their 14-win season was to turn their interior defensive line into a championship-caliber unit. They courted Jonathan Allen with a three-year deal worth up to $60 million, and guaranteed Javon Hargrave $19 million in a two-year, $30 million contract.
The Vikings were gambling on two aging players, but both were Pro Bowl talents, and the team desperately needed an upgraded pass rush. Their 2024 starters — Jihad Ward, Jerry Tillery, and Harrison Phillips — played all 17 games but combined for just 63 pressures. Brian Flores might favor the blitz even in ideal circumstances, but their weak interior rush forced them to blitz on 40% of their plays.
You have to give the two free agents some credit: They have improved their interior rush. Allen is tied for 21st among interior defenders with 20 pressures, and Hargrave is 28th with 17. But Jalen Redmond has outshone both in the pass rush (22 pressures, T-16), and Allen and Hargrave have been massive liabilities in the run game. For Hargrave in particular, his effectiveness dropped off severely after a monster seven-pressure Week 1, and his playing time followed suit. From Weeks 5 to 8, Hargrave had significantly fewer snaps than Levi Drake Rodriguez. Not a good look.
Hargrave got an opportunity to show the Vikings why they got him in Week 9, in a tough matchup against the Detroit Lions. You can argue that Minnesota got Hargrave (and Allen) just for Jared Goff and Detroit. In Goff’s two games against the Vikings, he went 49 for 58 with three touchdowns. They tagged Goff for six sacks and two interceptions, but that heat was coming from only a few sources. Jonathan Greenard played some monster games (12 pressures, two sacks), and Andrew Van Ginkel, Josh Metellus, and Ivan Pace all brought pressure… but from the outside.
Goff and Ben Johnson beat Flores with quick passes. The quarterback’s average time to throw was 2.56 seconds, below his already-elite 2.68 season-long mark. And when Goff wasn’t killing them, Jahmyr Gibbs was, torching a sturdy run defense for 6.54 yards per carry and five touchdowns… with another receiving score. Ouch.
To stop Goff and Gibbs, Hargrave needed to be as advertised. For the first time since Week 1, he was.
Redmond (58 of 64 snaps) and Allen (51) led the way in playing time, but Hargrave drew in for 39 snaps — his most since Week 4. He also made them count. Hargrave only registered two pressures and a sack for the game, and notching his first sack since Week 1 is notable. But his signature play came against Gibbs on the run, when he burst through two Lions linemen like saloon doors to stuff Gibbs for a loss.
Ultimately, Hargrave shone against the run game on Sunday. He tied Blake Cashman for the team lead with five stops, with three of them coming against Gibbs. It’s a big part of why the star running back finished the game with 28 total yards — the fewest of his career.
We probably shouldn’t expect this kind of Phillips-like production against the run. Hargrave hasn’t been a premier run-stuffer since his Pittsburgh Steelers days, and that was six years and four teams ago. But with Cashman and Van Ginkel back and healthy, there’s hope for the run game solidifying, even against Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry on Sunday.
All Hargrave has to do is what he was paid for: Make plays. He showed he could still do that Sunday, even against tough competition.