Ivan Pace Jr. was a priority UDFA this offseason, and so far, he's been one of the few bright spots on the Vikings defense. Pace might be undersized, but he's an incredibly smart and athletic guy for his position. 

Where his size fails him, he makes up for it with great technique that makes him very difficult to block. He still has his struggles, however, I like what I see out of him so far through 2 games of his young career.

Minnesota Vikings LB Ivan Pace Jr. Film Breakdown

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Disclaimer: The following is a transcript of a YouTube video titled “Rookie LB Ivan Pace Jr. was a STEAL for the Vikings: Film Breakdown” The content is for informational purposes only and was originally presented in video format.

It's looking like the Minnesota Vikings got a steal in undrafted free agency with linebacker Ivan Pace. He was 145th on the consensus board, so expected to be a day three pick. 

His final year at Cincinnati, he was the highest graded linebacker in college football, and the tape definitely backed that up, But he's very undersized for an NFL linebacker; at 5'10, 231 pounds. 

He had a solid 40 time, but he didn't test off the charts. So he went undrafted and got a big signing bonus to come to Minnesota through the first two weeks.

He's played 107 snaps and he's been one of the few bright spots for the Vikings defense. Pace has 14 tackles, four pressures and a sack. He also has an 85.2 PFF grade. 

They haven't asked him to do a whole lot in coverage, but he's been a force rushing the passer and he is done a good job getting off blocks in the run game. For a smaller linebacker, the biggest concern is going to be block shedding. 

When you have a major size disadvantage, if blockers are able to latch on with their hands, it's really easy to get sealed off and taken out of the play. But Ivan Pace has been able to overcome that with quickness to get around blocks and hand usage to disengage from contact.

He has a really effective club swim, which is his go to technique, especially if the blocker's lowering his head. Right here, the Bucs are running inside zone. The center is going to climb to the second level, and the one advantage of being undersized is that you're a smaller target for blockers to latch onto. 

So the center leans forward as he's trying to seal off the frontside A gap, and Ivan Pace quickly clubs the backside shoulder and swims over the top, and then pins him back with the opposite hand. Now he's in front of the block, and he's a great one on one tackler in open space. 

Here's another swim move from Week 2. You can see Jason Kelce lowers his head into contact, so Ivan Pace quickly gets into a club swim to ole the block and force the cutback. In Week 2, the Vikings were playing with some of the lightest boxes you'll ever see, so there were a lot of times where Pace would make a great play. 

He'd be the only one to get off the block, and it would still be a 7 yard gain. Right here, he covers the backside B gap to force Scott to bend it outside, and then he spins off the block from Cam Jurgens and makes the tackle. On this play, the Eagles are running QB draw against a four-man box. 

They've got two guards climbing to block pace from both sides, but again, he spins out of the double team and makes the stop. So a lot of his stats and big plays have come as a pass rusher, but he's able to use that skill set to stay clean in the run game. 

He can also use quick footwork to evade blocks. Right here the Bucs are running duo with two double teams on both of the defensive tackles. The right tackle, Luke Goedeke, is going to climb to Ivan Pace, but he just jukes him out and lets his momentum carry him downfield.

So as long as he's anticipating the block, he's good enough with his hands to overcome his size and stay in the play. But the reason he fell in the draft, you still see that show up on tape. When it's one on one at the point of attack against an offensive lineman, he doesn't have the stopping power to hold his ground very consistently. If a blocker gets his hands inside, he has a hard time separating and staying upright. 

And there were a few times over the first couple weeks where just incidental contact was able to put him on the ground. So for Ivan Pace it's gonna come down to reading the play, identifying blockers early, and being proactive when he engages.

But his biggest impact so far has come as a pass rusher. On 15 pass rushing snaps he has 4 pressures in a sack and a 43 percent pass rush win rate. It is a small sample size, but this was his game in college. In his senior year, he had 55 pressures, 12 sacks, and a 93.3 pass rushing grade.

Everything I've said about how quick and accurate he is with his hands, that all translates when he is rushing the passer, except he's usually being blocked by a running back or tied in. So the results are a lot better. 

Minnesota was completely outmanned defensively against the Eagles, so they didn't really have a chance to stop them, but Ivan Pace is exactly the kind of player you want against a team with a mobile quarterback. 

He can spot drop and be a good zone coverage player on underneath routes, and at the same time spy the quarterback, and after about three or four seconds, he can close in and finish off the pass rush. So even after just two games, I think it's safe to say the NFL overthought this evaluation. 

His lack of size and length is still a concern in run defense. He's good enough with his hands to overcome that to an extent, but there will be times he gets engulfed by blocks and taken out of the play. And we still need to see if he can take on a bigger role in pass coverage.

Like I said, he was mainly just spot dropping and staring at the quarterback. But he looks like he's going to be a playmaker for the Vikings defense, and one of those players we look back on and wonder how they didn't get drafted.

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