Brian Flores’ comments about Javon Hargrave’s performance raises multiple questions about the defensive line’s future

This is a fascinating element of Brian Flores’ defense.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium.
Jan 13, 2025; Glendale, AZ, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores against the Los Angeles Rams during an NFC wild card game at State Farm Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings spent a lot of money to fix their defensive line this offseason, and it’s mostly been good.

The Vikings are second in the NFL in EPA/play and first in EPA/drop back. However, the struggles have all come against the run, against which they are 25th in EPA/play. Those struggles are a big issue for the Vikings through five games, including a disaster against the Atlanta Falcons, when Bijan Robinson ran all over them.

The biggest factor here is the trade of Harrison Phillips. It has asked multiple players to play in roles that they aren’t suited for, with the most significant one being Javon Hargrave.

Brian Flores provides context on attention paid to Javon Hargrave

One thing that has been obvious about Hargrave is how he wins. He’s a gap-shooting defensive tackle who thrives rushing the passer. What he doesn’t do well is handling double teams. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores was asked about the attention that Hargrave is getting and likened it to Justin Jefferson being double-teamed.

“He’s a good player, so he gets a lot of attention. And I think as a whole, defensively when we see that, how do we use that to our advantage?” said Flores during Tuesday’s press conference. “Who can we maybe sneak through, if there’s a lot of attention being paid to him, to make them pay attention to somebody else. Essentially, that’s the process we go through.

“I think it’s no different than offensively, if somebody’s getting double-teamed and somebody else has got to open so, whether it’s Hargrave or Allen or Greenard. I think that happens from time to time. And when it does, we just try to, I don’t say, offset it, but make them think about another person, so that we can then free that player up again. But oftentimes, they’re just going to think of, stay on, on, on the one guy, and then, which means somebody else has got.”

The idea that Hargrave gets a lot of attention and how to combat it makes sense. It’s likely one of the reasons we’ve seen Jalen Redmond have a career year. However, it’s not just the attention that is worrisome; it’s how those double teams have made an impact. Hargrave isn’t just getting double-teamed; he’s getting destroyed at the point of attack.

Hargrave has played 177 snaps this season, with 22 coming as the 0T/1T nose tackle. He’s getting bullied consistently in those situations, especially on early downs, in the running game. His Pro Football Focus run defense grade this season is 43.5, which is a significant downgrade from what Phillips brought last season. However, he is still bringing a lot of value as a pass rusher with 13 pressures and 2.0 sacks so far this season on just 95 pass rush reps.

Is this what’s best for the Vikings’ defense this season and beyond? How much do they want to make the run defense a focus and take away from the pass rush? How they continue treating Hargrave over the next few weeks will go a long way in showing that. He’s played fewer snaps against the Pittsburgh Steelers (40) and Cleveland Browns (33) than he did in his first two games (45 and 48).

The evolution of this unit is one of the team’s more fascinating elements.

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