The Minnesota Vikings will be starting their fourth quarterback of the season on Saturday in Cincinnati as their roller-coaster year continues, along with the pursuit of a playoff berth.
Here are four observations ranging from the Vikings’ decision to start Nick Mullens at quarterback to Kirk Cousins’ potential for a second career.
Why Jaren Hall isn't replacing Josh Dobbs as the starting quarterback
Kevin O’Connell’s decision to have veteran Nick Mullens replace Josh Dobbs at quarterback against the Bengals has left some wondering why fifth-round pick Jaren Hall isn’t in the mix?
Hall started on Nov. 5 in Atlanta after Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending Achilles’ injury the previous week in Green Bay. The rookie completed 5-of-6 passes for 78 yards and ran for 11 yards on two carries before leaving the game after 11 plays because of a concussion suffered when he tried to scramble into the end zone.
That forced Dobbs to play only days after he was acquired from Arizona in a deal at the trade deadline.
So why not go back to Hall, now that he’s healthy? Here’s the answer: Mullens was Cousins’ backup entering the season before a back injury landed him on injured reserve, and Mullens would have started against the Falcons, if he hadn’t been on IR.
While there are some who want O’Connell to take a look at Hall, and see if he might be the quarterback of the future, clearly the coach doesn’t feel that the timing is right. Mullens has far more experience — 25 games and 17 starts in his career with San Francisco, Cleveland and Minnesota — and O’Connell also has to be aware that starting Hall would send a message that a team in the playoff race is looking to 2024.
Could Hall surprise if he got a chance? Absolutely. But the Vikings hired O’Connell in part because the team wanted someone it trusted to evaluate and develop quarterbacks. If O’Connell doesn’t feel Hall is ready for the starting assignment with four games left in the regular season, he deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Ivan Pace Jr. is having best rookie season of any Vikings undrafted free agent
The Vikings’ best all-time undrafted free agent signings include defensive tackle John Randle and center Mick Tingelhoff — both members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame — as well as wide receivers Adam Thielen and safety Robert Griffith.
Linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. has plenty of work left to do to join that group, but he already has one edge on all four of them. Pace is having the best rookie season of any undrafted free agent the Vikings have ever signed.
That continued in a 3-0 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday as Pace was credited with a team-leading 13 tackles and added a sack and interception. Pace joined DeMeco Ryans of the 2006 Houston Texans as the only rookies to have 13 tackles, a sack and an interception in a single game since the league began tracking tackles in 1994.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ trust in Pace is such that he has had him wearing the green dot on his helmet to communicate signals since veteran linebacker Jordan Hicks was lost in Week 10 against New Orleans.
Pace is sixth on the Vikings with 68 tackles and has 2.5 sacks, two pass break ups, an interception and a forced fumble in 13 games and nine starts. This comes after Pace fell through all seven rounds of the NFL draft last April before signing a three-year, $2.715 million contract that included $236,000 in guarantees.
Pace, who put up huge numbers at the University of Cincinnati last season and was the first unanimous All-American in the history of Cincinnati’s program, wasn’t selected mainly because of concerns about his size (5-10, 231 pounds).
But Flores has found the perfect role for Pace.
As for having the best rookie season of any Viking UDFA since the franchise was born in 1961, here’s my case: Randle, Thielen and Griffith all saw limited time as rookies and were more contributors on special teams.
Randle, also considered undersized at 6-1, 290 pounds, had only 21 tackles as rookie in 1990, adding a sack and forced fumble in 16 games. Pro Football Reference also lists him as a defensive end, not a tackle, during a season in which he did not make a start.
Griffith had 11 tackles in 15 games with no starts in 1994, and Thielen caught only eight passes for 137 yards and a touchdown in 16 games and two starts in 2014. The majority of Thielen’s time was spent on special teams.
Tingelhoff’s rookie impact comes closest to Pace. He started all 14 games after signing out of Nebraska and started all 240 games in which he played from 1962 until 1978.
Pace has played 61 percent of the Vikings’ defensive snaps and also 55 percent of the special teams snaps. It was clear early in training camp that Pace belonged on the field, but his contributions have been more than almost anyone could have expected.
Josh Metellus' versatility should result in Vikings' defense being called the "44"
It was clear from the first practice in Organized Team Activities last spring that safety Josh Metellus was going to play a huge role in what Flores was doing. Metellus was constantly lining up in different spots, making him a safety in name only.
Metellus, a sixth-round pick by the Vikings in 2020 from Michigan, had started only three of the 48 games in which he appeared over his first three seasons and was mainly used on special teams. He played only 2, 5 and 22 percent of the defensive snaps in that time.
Another tip-off to Metellus’ upcoming importance came in early September when the Vikings signed him to a two-year extension for a reported $13 million with $6 million in guarantees.
That has turned out to be a steal.
Metellus has been in for 93 percent of the defensive snaps this season and 48 percent of the plays on special teams. He has one interception and 1.5 sacks in 13 starts but those numbers don’t begin to tell the story.
A FOX graphic during its coverage of the Vikings-Raiders game on Sunday showed Metellus has been used at 12 positions on defense this year. This includes strong and free safety, left and right cornerback, slot cornerback, and left, right and middle linebacker, left and right outside linebacker, right defensive end and left defensive tackle.
How does he do it?
Metellus isn’t only an outstanding athlete but also one of the most intelligent players in the Vikings’ locker room. His football IQ is off the charts and it’s a certainty he will have a career in coaching once his playing days are finished, if that’s something he wants to pursue.
I’ve been pushing for this on the “Purple Daily” podcast I do with Phil Mackey and Declan Goff on SKOR North for months now, but it has yet to take, so I’ll mention it here.
Flores’ defense needs a name. It’s gone from being one of the worst in the NFL under Ed Donatell to a unit that has saved the Vikings’ season. Here’s the proposal: This should be called the “44” defense in honor of Metellus’ number.
Metellus might not be the best player on the unit, but he is the guy who signifies just how much can be done to confuse offenses. This certainly isn’t a traditional 3-4 defense and Flores shows so many looks that are innovative and certain to be copied.
My idea comes from the fact the 1985 Bears defense under Buddy Ryan became known as the “46” defense because it moved strong safety Doug Plank (No. 46) to middle linebacker. There was more to it than that — and there is more to what the Vikings are doing than Metellus moving around — but in each case creativity with a safety is where many of the ideas start.
Kirk Cousins has become Mr. Personality
Kirk Cousins always has been a friendly enough guy, but he also seemed guarded when Mike Zimmer was his coach. This wasn’t a big surprise considering the relationship between the two seemed strained (that’s being kind) from the first day Cousins arrived in 2018.
Cousins’ seemed to lift his guard and show his personality for the first time when Netflix debuted its multi-part “Quarterback” series last summer. Suddenly, we got to see Cousins at home and up close at work. He definitely was quirky but that was part of Cousins’ charm and he came across as extremely likable.
That continued on Monday night as Cousins, recovering from his Achilles’ surgery, joined Peyton and Eli Manning on the “ManningCast” that aired during ESPN’s NFL doubleheader of Green Bay at the Giants and Tennessee at Miami.
Cousins showed his personality, along with his Kohl’s Cash chain, and participated in some very interesting inside football discussion between two former NFL quarterbacks and a current one.
Would Cousins be as good in a television booth every Sunday once his playing career is done? That remains to be seen and certainly won’t be the case for a few years, considering he wants to continue playing. But what Cousins has shown is far more personality than most knew he had.
This much is certain: Cousins’ willingness to let his guard down almost certainly has created opportunities, including endorsements, that might not have been there a few years ago.
Judd Zulgad is co-host of the Purple Daily Podcast and Mackey & Judd podcast at www.skornorth.com.
