Oct 24, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores watches from the sidelines in opposition to the Los Angeles Rams within the first half at SoFi Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Kirby Lee-Imagn Photographs.
Seems some of us exterior of Minnesota acknowledge the skills of Vikings defender Josh Metellus. Admittedly, he had a fairly poor 2025, however a lot of that was as a result of harm. Seeing him bounce again needs to be the expectation.
On The Athletic, Ted Nguyen assembled a listing of probably the most versatile gamers within the NFL. Scroll down a bit — journeying previous names corresponding to Kyle Hamilton, Puka Nacua, and Christian McCaffrey — means arriving at Mr. Metellus. Per Nguyen, Metellus is a “glue guy” who lets the protection as a complete to thrive.
Vikings Defender Earns Reward for Versatility
Begin off with some normal observations about how the Minnesota Vikings wish to play protection.
“For Brian Flores’ wacky scheme to work,” Nguyen begins, “versatility is key. Offenses can’t get the usual tells based on where defenders line up. Josh Metellus isn’t a household name but he lines up everywhere on the Vikings’ defense.”
Dec 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings security Josh Metellus (44) and cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7) and linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill (54) react after Minnesota Vikings cornerback Shaquill Griffin (1) made an interception late throughout the fourth quarter in opposition to the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Financial institution Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Photographs.
On a down-to-down foundation, Josh Metellus is able to embodying the Flores ethos.
From the identical piece: “On one play, he’ll line up as the deep safety. On the next, he could play press coverage on a tight end. On third down, he could be blitzing on the line of scrimmage. He’ll even rotate into the box and play linebacker. It’s hard to play all the positions he does in a regular defense, but in Flores’ defense, he has to learn how to do multiple things within each spot.”
And eventually: “His ability to make open-field tackles is essential for a defense that blitzes as much as the Vikings. If you miss open-field tackles on blitzes when the quarterback finds a hot route, it’s a recipe for disaster. Though he doesn’t make a ton of splash plays, Metellus is a glue guy for the Vikings.”
Each earlier than and after the snap, Coach Flores is trying to create chaos and confusion. He can obtain that broad aim by deploying a pile of gamers able to doing numerous issues nicely.
Nguyen is mentioning an excellent level that having sturdy tacklers — whereas all the time essential — is particularly vital because of the total aggression. Sending so many gamers towards the quarterback means having much less accessible for a sort out when the ball does get out. Whoever stays must be able to erasing the ball provider with minimal assist, if any in any respect.
Per PFF, Metellus missed 8 tackles final 12 months, a brutal quantity. He’ll be trying to rectify the difficulty.
Dec 22, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Minnesota Vikings security Josh Metellus (44) poses for a photograph following a Seattle Seahawks turnover throughout the fourth quarter at Lumen Area. Obligatory Credit score: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Photographs.
Extra optimistic is that he acquired shuffled round quite a bit.
Most prominently, Metellus had beefy workloads at free security (350 snaps) and within the field (315 snaps). He was a slot nook for 124 snaps, a large nook for 35 snaps, and alongside the d-line for 43 snaps. Metellus isn’t the athlete Harrison Smith was, however he has performed a pleasant job of getting into that Smith function.
Thought-about as a complete, the Vikings’ protection boasts a ton of versatile gamers. Aside from Josh Metellus, Andrew Van Ginkel and Byron Murphy come to thoughts. Final 12 months, Eric Wilson had a profession 12 months, largely as a result of taking part in nicely as an off-ball linebacker and as an edge rusher. Rookie Jake Golday is seen as a “Swiss Army Knife” by some. Different gamers might certainly be included, as nicely.
Search for Minnesota’s protection to proceed being the power of the group in 2026.
Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. E-mail: ok.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.
