The Vikings signed Sheldon Richardson this offseason because they needed a defensive tackle with some pass-rushing prowess to complement their big early-down run stuffers, Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson. The veteran Richardson entered this season with 31 career sacks, including 4.5 in his first stint in Minnesota back in 2018.
But for most of this season, Richardson wasn't standing out much. Typically playing around 30 snaps, he was held without a sack in the first seven games and had just nine pressures during that time. If you weren't paying close attention, you probably weren't noticing No. 90 very often, if at all.
That's no longer the case, as Richardson has started to heat up in a big way over the past three weeks. He broke out with 1.5 sacks against the Ravens in Week 8 while playing a season-high 35 snaps, then picked up two quarterback hits against the Chargers the following week. But Sunday against the Packers was Richardson's most impactful game, by far. He led the Vikings with four QB pressures and destroyed tight end Marcedes Lewis to get to Aaron Rodgers for a sack that was officially credited to Harrison Smith.
Notice anything different about that clip? Richardson, a defensive tackle by trade, is lined up at defensive end. Because the Vikings are without Danielle Hunter and Kenny Willekes and don't seem to trust Patrick Jones II or Eddie Yarbough much — each played just three snaps on Sunday — the 6'3", 290-pound Richardson actually spent almost all of his afternoon playing DE.
Coming into the game, Richardson had spent 188 snaps this year lined up at DT in either the A or B-gap, and 77 snaps lined up directly over an offensive tackle. He had just four snaps lined up outside the tackle, and three of those came last week in LA. On Sunday, Richardson lined up outside the tackle on 27 of his 34 snaps, according to PFF.
"It was out of need," Mike Zimmer said. "We’re kind of thin at that position right now trying to get some guys in there to play. But Sheldon did a good job of learning what he had to do in a week. He’s got a little different kind of rush. He’s a bigger body guy that can get on these tackles a little bit bigger than some of these ends that we have. I thought he did some good things and we’ll probably have to keep using him there."
Zimmer mentioned that the transition from DT to DE is generally easier than doing the opposite and moving inside as an edge player.
"I think he did a nice job," he said. "Things happen a little slower out there than inside at tackle, so I think moving out is a little easier than moving in. He did a good job. He had a lot of plays, had a couple good rushes in there."
Several of Richardson's pressures were important ones. In addition to the play where Smith sacked Rodgers, Richardson and D.J. Wonnum combined for a huge pressure on 3rd and 9 in the red zone in the second quarter, setting up a field goal that Mason Crosby missed. He was arguably the Vikings' best defensive player in the game, utilizing a number of pass rush techniques off of his bull rush to wreak havoc. The fact that he did most of it at a position different than the one he's used to makes it even more impressive.
“He’s a big guy that can move really well like a defensive end," Wonnum said. "So just having him be able to play inside and outside is a big boost and big help for us up front."
In total, Richardson has nine pressures over the past three games — or as many as he had in the first seven. Even if the Vikings get Willekes back next week, they're going to need Richardson to keep making an impact as one of their top pass rushers going forward — no matter where he lines up.
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