Matthew Coller's Vikings training camp preview: Defensive linemen

Harrison Phillips anchors a group with a lot of question marks...

Jerry Tillery and Harrison Phillips / Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

Editor’s note: The plan for this week was to start with training camp previews on Monday but following the tragic crash that took the life of Khyree Jackson, it did not feel appropriate to jump right into camp storylines. It’s hard to imagine a time where Khyree won’t be on everyone’s mind surrounding the Vikings. With that said, we begin previews today with him in our thoughts. Thank you.

Football season is nearly upon us. With the Vikings reporting for training camp in two weeks, it’s time for a refresher on where everyone on the roster stands, how the depth chart is looking, and the biggest storylines for each position. We begin with the defensive line, which has opportunities abound for players to earn roles if they can fit with Brian Flores’ defense.

Off we go…

Starters

Harrison Phillips

Without a major addition around him, the 28-year-old defensive tackle is the centerpiece of the defensive line. However, the Vikings have to be hoping that others emerge around him. Last season Phillips played a career-high 838 snaps and set career marks in tackles and sacks but the increased playing time came with a price. He dropped from a solid 72.1 (out of 100) PFF grade in 2022 to 59.7 in 2023 and he was credited with 11 missed tackles, nearly three times his previous high.

Phillips has also been more effective in terms of pass rush when his snap count is lower. Last year he was 26th among DTs in pass rush snaps, taking as many as Giants superstar Dexter Lawrence and 49ers rusher Javon Hargrave. That’s not ideal because his skill set is more shaded toward run stuffing. It stands to reason that if Phillips can stay more fresh in 2024 he can perform better and they can find players who are more natural rushers for pass-heavy downs.

This is a big season for the former Stanford defender. He’s set to become a free agent after this year and at 28 years old it might be his last chance for a significant contract. As for training camp, that doesn’t change much. Phillips is one of the leaders of the defense and it will be on everyone else to rise to the challenge around him.

Jonathan Bullard

Similar to Phillips, Bullard’s performance went down with a higher snap count. Prior to 2023 he hadn’t seen over 400 snaps since 2017 and then the journeyman DT was asked to play 643 last season. Through the first half of the season he was a strong rotational player but those marks dropped off and he ended 2023 with the lowest PFF grade of his career. But the Vikings brought him back, which was a clear sign that they see him as the more effective version that played 318 snaps in 2022. Whether Bullard still ends up playing more snaps than in the past depends on whether someone else steps into an impact role.

Depth

Jerry Tillery

Tillery never became the star pass rushing defensive tackle that the Chargers were looking for when they took him in the first round of the 2019 draft but under Antonio Pierce in Vegas he carved out a role that could work quite well in Minnesota if he can carry over his 2023 play. Tillery had 29 QB pressures in 283 pass rush snaps. PFF has a stat called “true pass sets,” that shows how a defender did in passing situations and Tillery ranked 32nd out of 129 DTs in that area last season. The Vikings have struggled to find a capable pass rush specialist inside since Sheldon Richardson’s strong 2018 season.

Will he show flashes in training camp suggesting he could make a difference or will he become a forgotten signing as the summer goes along?

Jonah Williams

Last year the Rams gave Williams more opportunities than in his first three seasons and he ended up ranking 54th of 73 defensive linemen with at least 450 snaps by PFF. While he was not effective as a pass rusher, he did crack the top 10 graded tacklers among interior DL and ranked 23rd against the run.

Presumably the Vikings brought him in to emulate the roles of Phillips and Bullard but any time a free agent signs a one-year, $1.5 million deal they are battling for a roster spot. If someone with higher upside than the 29-year-old can do the job then he may be pushed out.

Jaquelin Roy

The 2023 fifth-rounder from LSU made an impression in training camp as a rookie by showing some unique power to his game. He ultimately only played 95 snaps and registered four QB pressures in his first season with a handful of noticeable plays on tape. Roy, who was talked about coming out in the draft as having upside because of his physical talent, has an opportunity to earn a significant snap share if he can put together a strong training camp.

Levi Drake Rodriguez (R)

It’s hard to know what to expect from the seventh-round rookie from Texas A&M Commerce. He has the college production as a pass rusher, strength and athletic ability to make waves quickly in the NFL but the jump in competition is going to be enormous. Unless he’s the next Ivan Pace Jr., we should expect a serious learning curve. He is known to have an extremely high motor and intense drive to improve so we will be on the lookout for signs of future potential from the intriguing rookie.

On the bubble

James Lynch

The Vikings liked what they saw from Lynch in 2022 when he graded by PFF as the 16th best run defender in the league (min. 200 snaps) so they decided to bring him back in 2024 after he spent all last season recovering from an ACL tear. Lynch is an interesting case because he played a defensive end at Baylor and then moved to 3-technique in the NFL and then was moved to nose tackle. He seemed to find a niche in 2022 and, in the best case scenario, might be a candidate to become a versatile option for Brian Flores up front. But with a lot of competition for jobs, it’s unclear whether there will be space for him. That may depend on how he performs in camp.

Tyler Manoa (R)

Manoa is a large, hard-nosed defensive tackle at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds. With a career high in college of just 12 QB pressures in a single season, it’s clear that Manoa’s job is to stuff gaps and make tackles in the run game. We will see if he can use his size well enough to make a name for himself in camp.

Jalen Redmond

The former Oklahoma Sooner was very productive in college with 14.0 career sacks. That landed him a UDFA opportunity with the Panthers in 2023 but he did not make the roster. Redmond went to the UFL and played with the Arlington Renegades where he picked up 4.5 sacks and 18 tackles. At under 280 pounds he is undersized but he could gain some traction in a room without much pass rushing juice.

Taki Taimani

Taimani is a fire hydrant. He’s 6-foot-1 and 310 pounds. For Washington and Oregon he was a very successful run stopper, ranking 21st in the nation in PFF run stopping grade. He played six years in college so he arrives as a mature player with an opportunity to battle with a crowded room of strong run defenders in the middle.

Storylines

How will they manage the rotation at DT?

We know that the Vikings need more players in the mix than just Phillips and Bullard but how will the other combinations play out? Will we see more of Tillery with the first team than Bullard because he is a pass rush threat? Will Roy get chances or will Flores prefer the veterans Williams and Lynch?

With opportunity abound, who will rise to the challenge?

There are spots on the roster where late-round picks and UDFAs (or UFL’ers) would have an extremely difficult time catching the team’s attention but the defensive tackle spot is not one of those. Do they have the horses behind veterans like Bullard, Tillery and Williams to push them? It would seem the draft picks Roy and Rodriguez are the most viable candidates to push for available snaps.

Will this unit be the defense’s biggest weakness?

Last year Phillips and Bullard did an admirable job trying to hold down the middle but that combination did not strike fear into opponents. Will they be able to cobble together enough at defensive tackle to keep teams from dominating on the ground and to provide a baseline level of pressure. Certainly Flores’ system requires D-linemen to create holes for blitzers but they are also in need of much more penetration up front in order to allow their DC to take his hand off the blitz button on occasion.