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Heading into the offseason it was clear the Vikings needed to fix their 29th ranked scoring defense from 2020. This offseason the front office has made several key additions on that side of the ball, making the unit look ready for a bounce back year in 2021.
On Monday the team was closing in on a deal with Sheldon Richardson, who played with the Vikings in 2018. Depth along the defensive line was extremely thin last season, so beefing up that area was a clear priority for Mike Zimmer’s defense.
The Vikings made the Richardson signing official on Tuesday, just in time to reunite him with Danielle Hunter for the first day of mandatory minicamp. A line with those two alone should boost the confidence from what fans saw a year ago, but throwing in Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson only make the position scarier.
A lot remains to be seen, and there’s even a chance Richardson will get some snaps off the edge on early downs. He finished the 2020 season with 4.5 sacks in Cleveland, a number that would have come second to only Yannick Ngakoue for the Vikings.
The depth on the Vikings defense has taken major strides from a year ago and fans have every reason to have high hopes for this team heading into the season.
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