Do the Minnesota Vikings have one of the better linebacker groups in the National Football League? Pro Football Focus' Gordon McGuuinness has the Vikings with a top-10 group of linebackers, ranking them 10th in the NFL.
It's interesting to see the Vikings ranking that highly. In 2023, they had Jordan Hicks as the only proven linebacker at the start of the season. Luckily, Ivan Pace Jr. emerged as an undrafted free agent and gave the Vikings much-needed developmental talent at the position. McGuinness referenced Pace in his writeup on the Vikings.
Undrafted free agent Ivan Pace Jr. was one of the best stories of the 2023 season after winning a starting role in the Vikings' defense and earning a 77.7 PFF coverage grade. They are pairing him with Blake Cashman this season, with the former fifth-round pick from the 2019 NFL Draft coming off a career year in 2023 (82.1 PFF grade).
Pace is still a good player but is somewhat limited. He is a pass rusher by nature, having gathered 9.5 sacks in his final year of college. What he doesn't do very well is moving laterally and shedding blocks.
Cashman's presence will be huge for the Vikings this season. He is a versatile player who can do a little bit of everything for the Vikings and that is incredibly valuable for defensive coordinator Brian Flores. His playcalling will be just a bit easier knowing that Cashman can do anything he needs him to.
The depth at linebacker is a question with Brian Asamoah II and Kamu Grugier-Hill as the primary backups. However, the three safety packages that the Vikings used in 2023, take some pressure off of the linebacker group as a whole.
The Vikings' defense is in a much better place than most believe it is going into 2024.
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