The Minnesota Vikings came into 2023 with many questions on the defensive side of the ball.
After being amongst the NFL’s worst units in just about every metric, the Vikings parted ways with a number of veterans on that side of the ball including Cameron Dantzler, Eric Kendricks, Patrick Peterson, Za’Darius Smith, and Dalvin Tomlinson.
In Brian Flores’ first season as defensive coordinator, though, the Vikings have completely reidentified themselves on that side of the ball. They are back to being an average passing defense (ranking 17th in passing yards per game allowed), and their run defense is hovering around the top-10 in terms of yards per carry allowed.