Vikings at Packers Depth Chart Preview

In 2013, the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings had two of the NFL’s worst defenses.

The Packers finished that season well into the bottom third of the league in points allowed (No. 24), defensive passer rating (No. 30) and yards allowed (No. 25).

The Vikings were even worse, probably the worst in the league: No. 32 in points, No. 30 in passer rating and No. 31 in yards.

Since then, though, these defenses have taken decidedly different paths.

The Vikings have been one of the league’s best the last three years and this season probably rate with Jacksonville atop the NFL.

The Packers, on the other hand, have continued to mostly flounder despite general manager Ted Thompson spending his top draft pick on a defensive player (and six picks in the first two rounds total) every year since then. They’ve at best made it to the middle of the league in the major defensive categories, and for the last two years they’ve been as bad as anybody on that side of the ball.

So what happened? Why do the Vikings come into Lambeau Field on Saturday with a top defense and the NFC North title in hand, while the Packers continue to struggle just getting a couple stops a game?

The answer isn’t complicated.

First, Rick Spielman, the Vikings’ general manager, has simply blown away Ted Thompson when it comes to drafting defensive players over the past seven or eight years.

Second, the Vikings hired a top defensive mind as their head coach.

What sets Minnesota apart is its sheer quantity of good defensive players. After consulting three NFL scouts, the consensus was the Vikings have seven defenders who are either Pro Bowlers or only a notch below: Everson Griffen, Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, Anthony Barr, Eric Kendricks, Linval Joseph and Danielle Hunter.

If you’re looking for Packers who belong on that list, you have Mike Daniels and the ascending Kenny Clark. That’s it, based on this season.

So how did the Vikings accumulate that talent? Spielman drafted six of the seven and signed the other (Joseph) as an unrestricted free agent.

Smith (No. 29 overall in 2012), Rhodes (No. 25 in ’13) and Barr (No. 9 in ’14) were first-round picks. Thompson had a shot at only one of them, Smith. The Packers’ GM picked one slot before the Vikings in ’12 and selected Nick Perry instead of the safety who has since been voted to two Pro Bowls.

But the other four Vikings standouts were on the board when Thompson picked.

Griffen, who would have been an outside linebacker in the Packers’ 3-4 defense, was a fourth-rounder (No. 100 overall) in ’10. That year Thompson picked defensive lineman Mike Neal in the second round (No. 56) and traded up for safety Morgan Burnett (No. 71) in the third.

Kendricks was a second-rounder (No. 45) in ’15. Thompson drafted Damarious Randall at No. 30, so he could have either picked Kendricks there or traded back, gained an extra pick, and still gotten him.

And Hunter was a third-rounder (No. 88 overall), also in ’15. Thompson drafted Quinten Rollins at No. 60 that year.

The defensive talent gap between these teams is stunning, and give all the credit to Spielman. He has hit on pick after pick over the last several years, whereas Thompson has hit only twice since 2010, on Daniels (fourth round) in 2012 and Clark (first round ’16).

Signing Joseph in ’14 also was a great use of free agency. The New York Giants thought they had enough talent on their defensive line to let Joseph walk, and Spielman ponied up $6.25 million a year for five years. It worked out so well the GM extended Joseph’s deal last August, adding four years and $50 million in new money, including $11.15 fully guaranteed.

Teams have wasted a lot of money in free agency over the years. But Joseph is proof there are good signings to be had.

Spielman also committed to that side of the ball by hiring Mike Zimmer as coach in ’14 after the defense had bottomed out in ’13. That meant the Vikings would have one of the league’s best defensive minds as long as he’s coach.