Welcome, Skoloholics! As you know, PFF is an analytics site, and we will be using their data, which is all behind a pay wall, so I won’t bother with a link. Their unique grading system grades each individual player on each individual play. It aggregates the plays then assigns each player an overall game grade in each category, along with an overall grade for the game. For defense, players are given grades for overall defense, a grade for run defense, tackling, pass rushing, and coverage. As with any metric or analytics analysis, there will be flaws, so this, along with any other metric, should be used as a tool and not used as a “be-all-end-all” answer to how someone played.
How did the Vikings players fare in Saturday’s crazy comeback game according to PFF? I’ll list each player who played significant game time, their snap counts, and their PFF grade(s). The list will be sorted by each player’s overall defensive grade. I’ll post the defense shortly.
Vikings Defense Snap Count & PFF Grade(s)
| Player | Snaps | Pos | Def | R Def | Tackle | P Rush | Cov |
| Duke Shelley | 79 | RCB | 83.9 | 59.8 | 76.8 | 88.3 | |
| Za’Darius Smith | 63 | ROLB | 81.3 | 90.7 | 75.2 | 60.2 | 63.7 |
| Patrick Peterson | 72 | LCB | 76.4 | 71.5 | 78.0 | 76.1 | |
| Jordan Hicks | 51 | WLB | 75.6 | 81.8 | 80.8 | 59.1 | 57.7 |
| D.J. Wonnum | 38 | ROLB | 75.5 | 60.5 | 73.6 | 69.1 | 77.2 |
| Harrison Phillips | 47 | DRT | 72.3 | 68.9 | 73.5 | 64.5 | 60.0 |
| Danielle Hunter | 73 | LOLB | 68.8 | 63.8 | 75.5 | 66.0 | 60.0 |
| Harrison Smith | 79 | SS | 64.8 | 59.8 | 59.3 | 53.2 | 66.2 |
| Chandon Sullivan | 70 | SCB | 63.1 | 71.5 | 81.3 | 53.8 | 65.7 |
| Dalvin Tomlinson | 51 | DLT | 58.5 | 55.6 | 70.6 | 63.3 | |
| Eric Kendricks | 74 | MLB | 56.7 | 68.5 | 67.7 | 59.1 | 43.9 |
| Camryn Bynum | 79 | FS | 48.1 | 62.6 | 63.1 | 47.0 |
Summary
I’m not surprised that the defensive players had higher overall scores than the offense. Even in the first half, the defense wasn’t horrendous. Failures on offense and special teams created over half of the 33 points allowed in the first half. Duke Shelley had a hell of a game in most fans’ eyes, and PFF agrees, as he is the highest graded Vikings defender for week 15.
I’ve been really happy with Harrison Phillips
He’s been a rock, HUGE addition by KAM.
He and Za’Darius Smith have been excellent additions.
That was a very good addition to the team, looks like Queasy & KOC have an eye for talent that can immediately help the team when it comes to free agent signings (same with Z.Smith). Their first draft, OTOH, doesn´t look so hot as of now…
Duke Shelley though…
Right? Kid went OFF on Saturday.
Duke Shelley was targeted 6 times, allowed 2 receptions for 15 yards (11 of those were YAC), had 2 pass breakups, and the QB had an NFL passer rating of 42.4 when throwing at him.
An 88.3 coverage grade is insanely high.