Ivan Pace Is Already Becoming an Afterthought in Vikings' Defensive Plans

It doesn't feel like very long ago that the Minnesota Vikings had Ivan Pace Jr. as a building block of their defense. When the team signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2023, he earned a lot of playing time immediately.

As a rookie, he played 706 defensive snaps and 249 special teams snaps. Pace rewarded the team by accumulating 102 combined tackles, 2.5 sacks, two pass defenses, and a fumble recovery. That rookie season seemed to solidify his role with the Vikings.

Over the next two seasons, Pace continued to be a major contributor, although his snap count shrunk with each year. In 2024, he went from playing 62 percent of possible defensive snaps to playing 59 percent. Although that change wasn't drastic, he went from 249 special teams snaps to 88,

It got uglier for Pace last season. His defensive snap count dropped to 323, which was 30 percent of the possible snaps. Meanwhile, the team loaded up his special teams snaps, getting him back in that phase of the game for 333 snaps.

The Vikings seem to be phasing linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. out of their defensive plans

The real story of Pace's declining usage in the Vikings' defense lies in looking at his starts and games played. He won a starting role as a rookie and started 11 of 17 games. He continued to be a big part of the plans in 2024 by starting 10 of his 11 games played.

It was the arrival of veteran interior linebacker Eric Wilson took Pace out of a starting role last season. After starting six games, Pace was taken out of the starting lineup. This season, Wilson is the full-time starter.

The 2026 season is making it clear that Pace is being phased out of the Vikings' defense. After averaging 19 defensive snaps per game last season, he only played 10 against the Packers in Week 1. To put that into perspective, he played 47 defensive snaps against the Bears in last season's opening game.

Minnesota hasn't completely given up on Pace; they are still using him on special teams. Against Green Bay last week, he had 26 special teams snaps. That number matches his season high from last season, which he had against the Bears in Week 10.

Since Week 11 of the 2025 NFL season, Pace has played a total of 39 defensive snaps compared to 172 special teams snaps. While he will still be able to contribute on special teams, his contributions to Brian Flores' defense have been minimized since last November.

It is looking even worse for Pace after the Vikings drafted linebacker Jake Golday in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft. He is another player who will be a serious threat to Pace's defensive snaps this season and in the future.

Pace is only 25 years old and has shown in the past that he can play at a high level when asked to do so. It will be interesting to see if he can battle back into a defensive role with the Vikings or if he will continue to be phased out of Minnesota's plans moving forward.

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