Vikings Trade For Yannick Ngakoue

Do we think this trade says less about Ifeadi Odenigbo and more about generating constant pressure for a largely unproven group of corners? — Nick W.

You’re correct that their desire to add Ngakoue came from the young secondary, something head coach Mike Zimmer confirmed when he spoke to the media about the trade, but I think it also absolutely says something about how the Vikings felt about their ability to produce pressure with the options in-house. It’s not as if Ngakoue was a free agent — they moved something (draft assets) pretty precious to general manager Rick Spielman in order to shore up what they considered to be a potential weakness. Not only that, the need to create buffer room in cap space this season means Reiff could be on the chopping block as a result. And they wouldn’t need to worry about providing support to their corners if they felt they absolutely had that support — these are interrelated.

But that doesn’t mean Odenigbo isn’t a starting quality defensive end. Everything I’ve seen from last year and in training camp suggests he has that kind of talent and possibly more. Not only that, Zimmer has indicated a few times that he thinks that Odenigbo is of that caliber. But he also indicated that they’ve been attempting to add a premier pass-rusher all season, which they can’t trust him to be quite yet. They clearly checked in on Everson Griffen, but also considered Jadeveon Clowney, per The Athletic’s Chad Graff. And this move could actually improve two positions, with Odenigbo rushing from the inside from time to time.

There’s a difference between having confidence that Odenigbo can be pretty good and knowing that Ngakoue can be a game-changer. It might say more about the corners than it does Odenigbo, but emphasizing that fact undercuts how uncertain that position really was heading into camp.

Hey Arif, extremely excited about the Ngakoue signing and the depth it adds. Do you see Ifeadi bumping into the 3-tech regularly, on passing downs, or not much at all? — Charles R.

Zimmer downplayed that possibility when talking to the media, but mentioned that his role might look a lot like last year. Only 30 percent of his snaps were at defensive tackle, though more than half of his pressure and sack production came from that alignment.

If I were to guess, I’d say that snap percentage on the inside will increase unless we see substantial improvement at defensive tackle — and though Jaleel Johnson looks better and Hercules Mata’afa looks more capable against the run, there’s a lot of uncertainty and a lot of room for that to happen.