Speed, power combo makes Javon Hargrave a force

The Vikings' defensive tackle was key to their win this week an will be vital going forward

Photo courtesy Minnesota Vikings

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By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — To begin the fourth quarter of the Minnesota Vikings’ matchup with the Chicago Bears on Monday night, quarterback JJ McCarthy led a touchdown drive to bring the Vikings within five points.

While it was a momentum-gaining drive, the Bears still had a 68% chance to win the game according to ESPN’s Gamecast. Caleb Williams got the ball back with a chance to extend the lead and make the Vikings’ comeback climb a lot steeper. With the ball on the Bears’ 25-yard line on first-and-10 with 12:13 remaining, defensive tackle Javon Hargrave ripped through the Chicago offensive line and sacked Williams. The 8-yard loss crushed the drive and the Bears went three-and-out. When the Vikings got the ball back, Chicago’s chances were down to 60%.

McCarthy led another touchdown drive in just 51 seconds and the tables turned to 60-40 win percentage for the Vikings. But at 20-17, Chicago was still very much in the game. On third down with 8:24 remaining, Williams rolled to his right looking to steal another first down with his legs. He narrowly escaped Andrew Van Ginkel and looked to take off. But someone cut him off. It was Hargrave, who hustled from the middle of the field to close down Williams’ angle and forced him out of bounds.

“Gink had a chance and when I saw him miss, I had to kick it to the sideline because I saw that he had a lot of land free,” Hargrave told Purple Insider this week. “It was really me and him and he let me off a little bit and stepped out of bounds….I used the sideline. He was trying to do all this [juking] but I wasn’t going to let him cut it back.”

The next time Williams touched the ball, he was down 10 and Chicago’s win percentage was down to 4%.

Naturally the world celebrated McCarthy’s resilience and playmaking in the fourth quarter. He earned NFC Offensive Player of the Week. Hargrave, whose five-pressure, two-sack performance did not win any awards, yet it was every bit as vital to the win.

Nobody was surprised that Hargrave would have that type of impact. He did play a key role on teams that went to the Super Bowl in 2022 and 2023 and has registered as many as 11.0 sacks and 66 QB pressures in a single season. These are the situations that Hargrave was brought to Minnesota to dominate. After missing much of the 2024 season due to injury, he reminded the NFL of his impact.

Why is Hargrave so tough for opposing offensive linemen to block?

It’s definitely not in the measurables.

Nothing about his height or weight sticks out. He’s listed at 6-foot-2, 305 pounds. He wasn’t a top pick. He was selected in the third round of the 2016 draft. He didn’t go to a big college at South Carolina State. His NFL.com draft prospect grade projected him to be an “average backup or special teamer.” His Relative Athletic Score placed him in the 83rd percentile — not bad but far from Aaron Donald (97th) and Ndamukong Suh (96th).

The reason is that Hargrave possess a rare combination of speed and power and he knows how to use both of them.

“He can play so many styles,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said of Hargrave. “It's like a prize fighter that has all the punches and all the ways of fighting a fight based upon the opponent.”

O’Connell used a number of examples of Hargrave fighting different types of fights: He can adjust his play to blocking schemes in the run game, play-action games or double teams based on what he’s seeing. When he’s doubled teamed, O’Connell said that Hargrave is able to work his way into isolating one guy in the matchup to beat.

Hargrave points to his preparation. By the time he arrives at gameday, he has a pretty good idea which tool he’s going to pull out of the bag.

“I’m big on talking to my coaches and seeing what they are seeing and what the rush plan is going to be or how certain [linemen] block,” Hargrave said. “Everybody’s different. Sometimes you’ll catch somebody who’s really good at lateral quickness so I know it’s going to be a power game and sometimes you’ll catch somebody with slow feet so I know it might be a quick game. Sometimes you have to switch it up if they are that good.”

For offensive linemen, it’s a nightmare to face a defensive tackle who can slam them back into the quarterback or treat them like a road cone.

Rookie Donovan Jackson had the pleasure of facing Hargrave all summer long in training camp. It was an experience that he learned a lot from but didn’t exactly enjoy.

“It was horrible,” Jackson told Purple Insider. “He had me questioning if I was good at the sport for a while.”

Jackson explained how Hargrave leaves guards guessing whether it will be a speed rush or bull rush and it might just be both.

“When a guy can do both [speed and power] it puts you in an awkward position because you don’t know whether to set firm for the bull rush or set a little off with outside hands for hand fighting and swiping, so you have to be really keyed into what you’re doing,” Jackson explained. “With [Hargrave], his transition from speed to power is really elite. You see he will be shaking trying to size you up and then he’s down the middle of your chest driving you back.”

Remember when we talked about Hargrave’s size not being special? Well, the best players find ways to turn their shortcomings into strengths. Jackson said that Hargrave uses his lack of height to get an edge with leverage.

“He has such a low center of gravity that it’s hard to anchor him and that’s the tough part,” Jackson said. “It’s one thing to get bull rushed and you can get your hands back under and redirect the force back up but his center of gravity is driving through you. Even if you try to anchor, you’re still going back. That’s the tough part about it.”

While Jackson wasn’t thrilled during training camp to face the dynamic powerhouse, he understood the value of going against one of the top players at his position over the last decade. And once Jackson watched from the sideline as Hargrave produced the league-high in QB pressures for the week at the DT position in the NFL, he reflected on his camp a little differently.

“Just seeing him playing [against Chicago] made me feel better about myself,” Jackson said, laughing.

By the way, Jackson’s work with Hargrave paid off to the tune of a tie for first place in PFF pass blocking grade for Week 1.

It wasn’t just Hargrave who made an impact on the Chicago game. His partner in crime on the interior Jonathan Allen had six QB pressures. You would be hard pressed to find another time in recent history that two Vikings DTs posted that many pressures.

“That was the vision, and we saw it come to life,” O’Connell said.

This week Hargrave and Allen face a much different challenge than Williams. Atlanta quarterback Michael Penix Jr. ranked fifth among all QBs in time from the snap to release of the ball. They will need quick pressure up the middle to bother the pocket QB. Of course, that’s why they brought Hargrave here.

INJURY REPORT

— Christian Darrisaw, Andrew Van Ginkel and Jeff Okudah are out. That means Justin Skule will likely start again at left tackle. He had a tough outing in Week 1 so the Vikings will have to find ways to give him help off the edge, assuming he is still starting. Their second-year tackle Walter Rouse would be the other option.

Darrisaw was listed as “questionable” last week but ruled out this week. O’Connell said that it was not due to a setback.

“He's still so far ahead of schedule and is in such a great place that we just want to continue that,” O’Connell said. “I've told Christian and our medical staff many, many times, first and foremost, the number one priority will always be what's in the best interest, not only in the present for sure, but more importantly in the long term.”

Van Ginkel being out puts the onus on Dallas Turner to handle the outside linebacker duties across from Jonathan Greenard.

“I can promise you guys that my excitement for Dallas Turner every time I've had a chance to talk with you since really the first day of the offseason program has been real,” O’Connell said. “It's been authentic. It's been genuine….I'm so excited for him just because there is a personal football journey that takes place with every player in the NFL and every player that's ever played in the NFL. And the jump that he is currently experiencing and will continue to experience will be highlighted clearly with Gink being out this week, but we have viewed it from day one as three potential starters.”

Dwight McGlothern will get his opportunity with Okudah out, according to Brian Flores and KOC. He hasn’t had much playing experience but has been one of the most productive corners in the last two training camps.

Harrison Smith is questionable.

Ryan Kelly and Josh Oliver are good to go after missing two days of practice.

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