New Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson's best season came in 2014, playing as a defensive end in the Jets' 3-4 scheme. That year, Richardson had eight sacks and was the second-highest graded 3-4 defensive end in Pro Football Focus' metrics.
But even last year playing as a defensive tackle with Seattle, Richardson showed he still can influence the passing game. Though he only had one sack, he was credited by PFF with 28 quarterback hurries in 2017 — tied for seventh most among all interior linemen.
Geno Atkins — who was coached by Mike Zimmer with the Bengals before Zimmer joined the Vikings — had 50 last year for Cincinnati to lead interior linemen in hurries. Tom Johnson, the Vikings' primary tackle next to Linval Joseph last year, had 20 hurries.
"Sacks are not our number one goal," Zimmer said. "It's about disrupting the quarterback and getting him off his spot and timing."
Read Michael Rand's blog at startribune.com/randball. michael.rand@startribune.com.
