The Minnesota Vikings spent the first week of free agency improving every unit of need on the roster, but one signing stood out above the rest.
ESPN sports betting analyst Pamela Maldonado on Monday, March 17, dubbed the Vikings’ acquisition of former Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen not only Minnesota’s best move of the offseason, but the best signing in all of free agency one week into the proceedings.
“Minnesota’s defense desperately needed disruption and toughness, especially against the run,” Maldonado wrote. “Landing Allen at three years, $60 million instantly fixes that. He can stop plays cold and send quarterbacks scrambling. It’s a move that reshapes the Vikings’ defensive identity and significantly elevates their competitiveness in the NFC North.”
Jonathan Allen Can Bring Interior Pass Rush Missing From Vikings Defense Last Year
GettyFormer Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen.
Allen is a former first-round pick, whom the Commanders selected No. 17 overall out of Alabama in 2017. He is a two-time Pro Bowler (2021, 2022) and has started 108 of the 109 regular-season games he’s played over his eight-year NFL career.
Allen has 60 tackles for loss, 42 sacks, 5 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles and an interception on his resumé to go along with 401 tackles and 118 QB hits, per Pro Football Reference.
“The Vikings have the interior disruptor they have been seeking since allowing Dalvin Tomlinson to depart via free agency after the 2022 season,” ESPN’s Kevin Seifert wrote after Allen’s signing. “Since the start of the 2023 season, the Vikings haven’t had an interior defender who ranks among the NFL’s top 40 in pass rush win rate. If nothing else, Allen will draw more attention from opposing offenses and away from edge rushers Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner.
Despite Allen’s positive attributes and history of success, he is coming off of a down year in 2024, in which Pro Football Focus (PFF) graded him as the 119th-best performer at his position out of 219 players who saw enough snaps to qualify.
Jonathan Allen Struggled With Serious Injury During Final Season With Commanders
GettyFormer Washington Commanders defensive tackle Jonathan Allen.
A big part of Allen’s issues last season may be tied to a pectoral tear he suffered, which led him to miss nine of 17 games during the year.
“It was his first significant injury since breaking a foot as a rookie, but at 30, health histories are significant for free agent acquisitions,” Seifert continued. “Allen played 73% of Washington’s defensive snaps between 2018 and 2023, and it would make perfect sense for that number to drop as he settles into more targeted snaps with the Vikings. [Harrison] Phillips, for example, played 58.6% of the team’s snaps last season.”
If Allen struggles with injury or performance, Minnesota can lean on his new teammate and fellow defensive tackle Javon Hargrave. The Vikings also picked up Hargrave in free agency last week, inking him to a two-year contract worth $30 million total.
Hargrave, who will play next season at 32 years old, is also a two-time Pro Bowler (2021, 2023). He won the award both times as a member of the vaunted San Francisco 49ers defense. Also like Allen, Hargrave battled injuries last season, though his issues cost him 14 games.
Together, Hargrave and Allen should render the interior of the Vikings’ defensive line plenty formidable in the season to come, though that depends on how healthy each man can remain.
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