Vikings ready to see if Michael Pierce can be the key to restoring interior pass rush

EAGAN, Minnesota -- Minnesota Vikings nose tackle Michael Pierce had just completed his first one-on-one pass rush of training camp when he was grabbed by assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator Andre Patterson.

“He just took the guy and walked him back onto the quarterback’s feet,” Patterson said. “He went right by him, and I was surprised.”

Patterson wanted to emphasize to Pierce that despite the fact his primary role during his first four NFL seasons with the Baltimore Ravens wasn’t to collapse the pocket and rush the passer, things would be different with the Vikings. “Don’t ever let anybody tell you (that) you can’t rush the passer,” Patterson told him.

The Vikings will finally get to see the 6-foot, 340-pound Pierce in action Saturday night (8 p.m. ET, FOX) against the Indianapolis Colts. Pierce, whom they signed as their prized free-agent acquisition in March 2020, opted out of 2020 due to concerns about the risk of COVID 19 and the asthmatic condition he’s dealt with his entire adult life.

Pierce admits he’ll have some nerves stepping onto the field at U.S. Bank Stadium. The closest he got to being part of this defensive line last year was watching every game on television and then relaying his thoughts to teammates in a group message.

It’s the true start of a new chapter for the 28-year-old former undrafted free agent. It’s also the Vikings’ first chance to see their investment pay off in remedying two of their biggest weaknesses up front.

After stumbling all the way to 27^th in rushing yards allowed (134.3 per game) in 2020, Minnesota’s first priority in free agency was signing Dalvin Tomlinson so it could put another big body next to Pierce at three-technique. The Vikings’ chance to create a modern-day Williams Wall -- anchored by defensive tackles Pat and Kevin Williams, the Vikings had the best run defense from 2006-08 -- was in full effect.

But that wasn’t the only area where the Vikings saw Pierce’s potential impact.

“What impresses me the most? Actually, how nimble he is as a big guy,” defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson said. “Believe it or not, I didn’t expect him to move like that in pass rush. But he actually can get off the ball and get after the quarterback, too.”

Pierce put that on full display during Minnesota’s final walk-through practice on Thursday. During an 11-on-11 period, the nose tackle blew up a screen pass and somersaulted his massive frame through the air while trying to intercept the ball.

“You don’t get to see that too often around the NFL. The only other guy I’ve seen do stuff like that is Linval Joseph,” backup nose tackle Armon Watts said. “Those guys have a lot of similarities as far as strength and body size."

Minnesota didn’t get much push from its interior pass rush in 2020. The Vikings only generated 37 quarterback pressures from their interior defensive line, which was the fourth fewest in the NFL. Their interior line collectively ranked 31^st in the league in ESPN’s pass rush win rate, where interior D-linemen defeated their block within 2.5 seconds only 5.6% of the time. The league average is around 10%.

In four seasons with the Ravens, Pierce totaled 3.5 sacks as a nose guard. It’s not that he wasn’t capable of collapsing the pocket or lacked a repertoire of pass-rushing moves, it just wasn’t his primary role in a scheme that relied on him to generate run stops.

“[Baltimore’s] defense is driven by outside linebackers. I played with Elvis Dumervil, Terrell Suggs, Matt Judon, a whole bunch of guys that come off the edge, and they want their nose guards to get great A-gap push,” Pierce said. “One of the reasons I signed here was because Dre, when he was recruiting me to come here, told me he believed in my abilities and he believed that I could do a little bit more than that.”

Pierce’s teammates see similarities between him and Joseph, the two-time Pro Bowler who spent 2014-19 with the Vikings. In that span, Joseph totaled 15 sacks and cemented himself as one of the best nose tackles in the NFL.

“When Mike makes up his mind to pass rush, he can do it just as well as anybody else, especially with his God-given strength," Watts said. "Collapsing the pocket is never going to be a problem for him, in my opinion.”

Pierce dubs himself “a really big historian of the game,” so it’s no surprise that in addition to studying the best to play his position, Pierce also sought out an opportunity to work out with Joseph during the offseason.

The uniqueness Pierce presents is a critical element for this defensive line to bounce back in 2021. The Vikings already knew they were getting one of the top run-stopping tackles when they sought out Pierce two years ago and signed him to a three-year, $27 million contract weeks after Joseph was released as a cap casualty. Now having seen his pass-rushing prowess up close, Patterson said it’s his goal to put Pierce in situations to tap into his larger skill set.

“When you’re that big, that strong and that physical, the offensive linemen are sitting to brace for his power,” Patterson said. “Now, when he can change it up and give some quick speed, that really opens things up in his game.

“That’s why I wanted to make the point off jump street when I saw it, don’t ever tell me that you can’t rush the passer, don’t you ever tell me you can’t beat anybody quick edge to edge. You made a mistake; you showed me you could do it. So now, I’m going to be on you to make you do it. I was pleasantly surprised and that’s a big thing for a big man to have.”