Getty Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson of the Minnesota Vikings pressures quarterback Sam Darnold of the Carolina Panthers during a game at Bank of America Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
The Minnesota Vikings‘ offseason is not going to be about signing veterans to pricey, long-term deals, but there is always an exception or two to the rule.
There is perhaps no better use of said exception than to employ it as a means to bolster the Vikings’ porous defensive line, which will be even more bereft of talent if the team doesn’t re-sign defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson.
Fortunately, there are a handful of premier interior defensive linemen set to hit the free agent market this offseason should Minnesota decide to spend money on that position. Among them is Javon Hargrave of the Philadelphia Eagles, who nearly won a Super Bowl ring after producing a career year in 2022.
Hargrave Among Best Pass Rushing Defensive Tackles in NFL
GettyDefensive tackle Javon Hargrave of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts after a play against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium on February 12, 2023 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report on Sunday, February 19, suggested that every NFL team should, at the very least, take a look at Hargrave this offseason. That goes double for squads like the Vikings that have legitimate holes to fill in their front-seven.
There are going to be teams who shy away from Javon Hargrave based on age. It’s a lot easier to sell a fanbase on investing in a 25-year-old defensive tackle like Daron Payne in free agency. But Hargrave could easily be a better player than Payne over the next two seasons.
Payne exploded with 11.5 sacks in a contract year. After combining for 14.5 quarterback takedowns in his first four seasons, he put everything together and was dominant as an interior pass-rusher.
But looking at pass rush win rate (how often a player can defeat their block within 2.5 seconds), Payne was not a top-10 interior defender. That’s much more predictive of future pass rush productivity than sacks, and Hargrave finished third. He finished third in 2021, too.
Yes, Hargrave is four years older than Payne, but most NFL contracts are structured to have an out after the first two or three years, and it’s not out of the question for Hargrave to continue playing at this level for that amount of time.
Hargrave also produced the best season of his career in a contract year, posting 60 tackles, including 10 tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hits, 11 sacks, two passes defensed, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble, per Pro Football Reference.
Pro Football Focus ranked Hargrave the 11th-best interior defender out of 126 players who qualified at the position with an overall grade of 80.1.
Hargrave Would Bolster Vikings’ Pass Rush With Middle Pressure
GettyDefensive back Darius Slay (left) and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (right) of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrate a sack during a game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on December 18, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Stuffing the run is not Hargrave’s forte, but he will help any roster that he’s on get pressure on the quarterback.
The Vikings had a pair of edge rushers in Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith who each eclipsed 10 sacks in 2022. Adding Hargrave to the mix would go a long way to helping protect a weak secondary in Minnesota by forcing quarterbacks to make quick decisions and creating third-and-long scenarios, in which the Vikings can bring more defensive backs onto the field.
Minnesota is currently $23.3 million over the salary cap, while Spotrac projects Hargrave’s market value at $20 million annually over a three-year deal. The Vikings face tough choices this offseason and must decide what to prioritize, though adding a player like Hargrave would go a long way toward improving a defense that is far from optimized.