Vikings rookie linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. is turning his training camp and preseason hype into legitimately impressive regular season production. Through two weeks, the undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati is one of PFF's highest-graded rookies in the NFL.
Pace ranks fourth on the list, behind top-ten picks Jalen Carter and Bijan Robinson and Colts tight end Will Mallory, who has a tiny sample size of 11 snaps.
Pace, the only undrafted player to make this list, again finds himself ranked among the league’s best rookie defenders, having previously come in at 11th on this list after Week 1.
Similarly to his first outing, Pace wasn’t the most efficient coverage or run-stuffing backer, but his appeal as a pass-rusher is undoubtedly there. Through the first two weeks of play, Pace has produced a massive 53.3% pass-rush win rate on his way to earning a 90.0-plus pass-rush grade in each contest. While the workload is limited, expect to see more of Pace moving forward.
Pace has played 107 of a possible 145 defensive snaps (74 percent). He's very firmly ahead of Brian Asamoah (16 snaps) as a starting linebacker alongside veteran Jordan Hicks. Given how productive Pace has been in Brian Flores' defense, his snap share may increase even further in Week 3.
The biggest strength to Pace's game thus far has been his effectiveness as a blitzing pass rusher; he has four pressures, two QB hits, half a sack, and a 91.9 pass-rushing grade on 15 such snaps. That pass-rush grade is the highest mark among all inside linebackers in the NFL, rookie or otherwise.
Pace has also graded very well as a tackler and earned decent marks in run defense and coverage. He's one of four Vikings defenders with 11 solo tackles in two games, the others being Harrison Phillips, Josh Metellus, and Camryn Bynum.
It's still very early in Pace's rookie season, but it continues to look like the Vikings found one of the steals of this year's draft after the draft concluded.
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