After making a big splash in the opening 24 hours of free agency this spring, the Vikings made a shrewd move that flew under the radar in real time.
It might sneakily go down as the best signing of the bunch.
Though he doesn’t have the same name recognition as some of his peers, linebacker Eric Wilson has been as instrumental as anybody for the Vikings. His most recent performance, a starring role in the Vikings’ 27-24 upset win over the Detroit Lions, was his most impactful so far.
Wilson recorded a pair of sacks to go along with another tackle for a loss as the Vikings pulled back to even (4-4) and improved to 2-0 in the NFC North. Not bad considering Wilson wasn’t supposed to play much defense at all.
After signing to be more or less a special teams ace, Wilson has emerged as an important piece on defense, forced into action a couple of months ago when linebacker Blake Cashman suffered a hamstring injury. He was so effective, he ultimately supplanted linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. in the starting lineup.
“He’s been phenomenal,” Cashman said. “A game changer.”
Asked if he could’ve foreseen Wilson carving out the niche he has for himself, defensive coordinator Brian Flores replied, “The short answer? No.” He went on to praise the veteran journeyman for his production and forcing his way onto the field.
“That’s my message to everybody who steps into the building,” Flores said. “We don’t care by what means a guy got here.”
The fact that Wilson is currently garnering a lot of playing time is almost poetic considering they signed him as an undrafted free agent once upon a time.
After making a name for himself early in his career, he went on to spend time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans, New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers before signing back on with the Vikings on a modest one-year, $2.6 million contract.
“You want to play with great players on a great team,” Wilson said. “I’m really glad to be a part of it.”
It’s safe to say the Vikings feel similar given the impact Wilson has made regardless of where he’s been asked to play in the formation. He’s recorded 57 tackles and 3½ sacks while making everybody around him better.
“He’s playing dang near every snap of the game,” edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel said. “It’s good to see him playing so well.”
Wilson’s versatility has been on display in the way Flores has deployed him. After spending a bulk of his time running sideline to sideline while Cashman was out, Wilson has also been used as more of a pass rusher as of late. That was especially true in Detroit, where a lot of stunts designed to challenge the interior of the offensive line allowed Wilson to fly in like a missile on occasion.
A particular rep that stood out featured Wilson vaporizing running back Jahmyr Gibbs at the point of attack before hauling down quarterback Jared Goff.
“I’m trying to win every rep,” Wilson said. “That’s got to be the mentality no matter what position I’m playing.”
As much as he’s contributed on defense, Wilson has continued to take an immense amount of pride of his play on special teams, even if it’s much less frequently than he originally thought it would be.
“That’s how this guy is built,” special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said. “He comes to me always asking, ‘Am I on this? Am I on this? Am I on this?’ I’m like, ‘Nah.’ He’s like, ‘I need to be on this.’ ”
Though he’s gotten his wish and seen an uptick in his playing time on special teams over the past few weeks, Wilson is going to continue to be somebody that makes his mark on defense above everything else.
“He’s done a great job,” Flores said. “He’ll continue to be out there.”
Briefly
It appears that running back Aaron Jones (shoulder/toe) is trending in the right direction. After not participating in practice on Wednesday afternoon, hw was a limited participant in practice on Thursday afternoon.
Related Articles
Vikings star Andrew Van Ginkel calls out ‘dirty play’ by the Lions
J.J. McCarthy’s alter ego and where it could take the Vikings
The Loop Fantasy Football Report Week 10: First half filled with underachievers
Did the Vikings make any moves ahead of the NFL trade deadline?
Mizutani: J.J. McCarthy is just scratching surface for Vikings
Leave a Reply