Quarterly Report: Minnesota Vikings PFF Grades

Aloha, and welcome to Skoloholics! We’re going to do one of these reviews once per quarter. Now that there are 17 games, there’s no clean way to quarter the season, so we’ll go with every 4 and make the last quarter a game longer. I suppose you could end the first quarter after the first quarter of the 4th game of the year, end the 2nd quarter after halftime of the 8th game of the year, and end the 3rd quarter after the 3rd quarter of the 12th game of the year, but that would be a bit of a hassle, wouldn’t it?

Those who know me know that I don’t put a ton of stock into grades, and I’m critical of them myself oftentimes. However, I think they’re useful as a tool that can be used alongside other analysis and information, and since I have this PFF premium account, I might as well use it. So, I’m going to provide a quarterly review of PFF grades of current Vikings starters, along with some thoughts for discussion.

EOQ Q1

The team is 3-1 (standings from ESPN). After a fast start in week one against the Packers, the team has stumbled into poor play on both sides of the ball. They’ve begun to show signs of improvement after a big loss to the Eagles in week 2, and did JUST enough to beat the Lions and the Saints.

Players on offense and defense will be ranked in order of their PFF grade after week four.

Vikings Offense

78.1 – Christian Darrisaw LT 8th out of 70

73.8 – Bryan O’Neill RT 16th out of 70

72.9 – Kirk Cousins QB 11th out of 33

70.1 – Justin Jefferson WR 34th out of 106

68.8 – Dalvin Cook RB 21st out of 57

68.3 – Adam Thielen WR 43rd out of 106

62.7 – Ezra Cleveland LG 29th out of 71

62.6 – K.J. Osborn WR3 69th out of 106

61.9 – Garret Bradbury C 18th out of 36

60.9 – Ed Ingram RG 35th out of 71

58.2 – Irv Smith Jr. TE 40th out of 67

Not a ton of surprises on here, in my opinion, as these seem fairly accurate. Overall, the biggest pleasant surprise this year (besides 3-1) is the Vikings O-line. They struggled a bit against the Saints, but they even held their own at times in that game. In the other three games, they have looked above average to good, and these PFF grades seem to reflect that. Darrisaw is really coming into his own, and Ingram is off to a strong start for a rookie. If Bradbury can continue to be league average, it’ll be a blessing. The lowest grade is unsurprising, as Irv Smith Jr. got off to an abysmal start, but he has also improved through the past couple weeks.

Vikings Defense

80.5 – Dalvin Tomlinson DLT 10th out of 124 DI

76.0 – Za’Darius Smith OLB 29th out of 108 ED

75.4 – Danielle Hunter OLB 32nd out of 108 ED

67.4 – Harrison Phillips DE 37th out of 124 DI

67.2 – Cameron Dantzler CB 34th out of 105

65.5 – Patrick Peterson CB 40th out of 105

63.0 – Eric Kendricks ILB 39th out of 81

59.7 – Cam Bynum FS 48th out of 82

58.7 – Harrison Smith SS 52nd out of 82

53.7 – Jordan Hicks ILB 57th out of 81

The biggest pleasant surprise I see here is Dalvin Tomlinson, grading as the 10th best DLT out of 124. A few fans (glances at fivefingers) had written Tomlinson off as a bust, so it’s nice to see the young man prove those old naysayer folks wrong. The Smith and Hunter pair are both grading out strong, and both safeties graded around average, and are near the bottom of the Vikings list. Jordan Hicks sits at the bottom, grading as the 57th highest out of 81 linebackers.

Overall, PFF seems to think fairly highly of the Vikings so far. As you look on the roster, each player has a color coding that goes from green to yellow to red. We have lots of green of varying shades, some yellow, and only one player in the orange range (Hicks). Our O line is bookended by two solid tackles, and the interior looks much better than it has in recent years. If Irv can continue to improve as he gets more reps, it’ll be a boost to an offense that SHOULD start humming at some point.