'All about work ethic' Vikings DC Brian Flores honest admission about unsung defender should get fans excited
After an 8-2 start, the Minnesota Vikings have had a great start this season. The offense has been explosive and among the league leaders in EPA/play while the defense has been in the same area. They are explosive on both sides of the ball with the defense being third in the NFL in sacking the […]
After an 8-2 start, the Minnesota Vikings have had a great start this season.
The offense has been explosive and among the league leaders in EPA/play while the defense has been in the same area. They are explosive on both sides of the ball with the defense being third in the NFL in sacking the quarterback and second in the NFL in drives that end in points by an opponent (25.2%)
The defense has been excellent, especially the free-agent acquisitions. However, it's been the unsung players that have made the biggest impact.
Pat Jones II's work ethic shines through
With the lack of an interior pass rush, the Vikings have used a lot of three and four edge rusher personnel groupings to pressure the quarterback and they have done a tremendous job in doing so.
One of those players is fourth year edge rusher Pat Jones II, the only one of the Vikings' four third-round picks in 2021 to still be on the roster. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores was asked about him on Tuesday and praised his work ethic.
"You know, I think his approach since I've been here has been one that's all about work ethic and all about trying to improve. And really, different facets of his game, whether it's in the run game, whether it's pass rush, whether it's just football IQ and understanding protections and just run fits and different ones that offense is gonna give us. I think he's done a really nice job playing a lot of different kind of roles for us. He played some defensive tackle, obviously, in some of the dime packages, played on the edge. So he's a he's a piece we can move around. He's really done a nice job across the board. And you know, we're all happy for his success, because we know he really works hard at it."
Jones is having a career year in 2024. He isn't generating a ton of pressure but hasn't been asked to be the guy who generates the pressure. Jones is doing a lot of the dirty work for the Vikings' defense to spring the likes of Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel with stunts where he will crash to spring them for a sack.
Jones has also done a great job himself in making his pressures count. In the first 10 games, Jones has 18 pressures on 221 pass rush reps. However, Jones has a career-high 7.0 sacks after just having 5.0 sacks and 39 pressures in his first three seasons on 603 pass rush reps. A pressure-to-sack rate of 38.89% is significantly impressive for Jones and he's been a vital part of the Vikings' pass rush this season.
He is set to be a free agent after the season and his work ethic and output this year could land him a big contract.
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