Vikings' Jordan Hicks, kept for his veteran leadership, enjoys a resurgence and expanded role

The Vikings signed Jordan Hicks to a two-year, $10 million deal in March 2022, planning to pair the veteran linebacker with Eric Kendricks in the middle of a defense that would transition from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4 base defense under Kevin O'Connell. After a season of teams picking on the middle of that defense ended with the Vikings ranked 28th in points allowed and 31st against the pass, O'Connell fired defensive coordinator Ed Donatell and hired Brian Flores to replace him.

The team cut Kendricks in March, as the first of several moves to save cap space by parting with pricey veterans. Hicks, who was scheduled to make $5 million in the final year of his deal, agreed to a $1.5 million pay cut in exchange for more guaranteed money and additional incentives. The Vikings planned to keep the 31-year-old in the middle of their defense, putting a headset in his helmet so he could relay calls from Flores and run their huddle. A group of young players running a blitz-heavy scheme, they figured, would benefit from veterans like Hicks and Harrison Smith who could select from a deep menu of pre-snap checks that Flores installed as a fail-safe.

Six games into the Vikings' season, Hicks is enjoying a resurgence. He's played all but 10 of their defensive snaps, ranking second on the team with 53 tackles, and is being used as a blitzer perhaps more than in any season of his career.

On Sunday, he had a fumble recovery and an interception in the same game for the second time in his career, scoring his first NFL defensive touchdown since 2015 when he returned Josh Metellus' strip of Tyson Bagent 42 yards for the score that gave the Vikings their decisive points in a 19-13 win.

"Basically a unanimous captain, voted by his teammates, and he's somebody that I really lean on in addition to Harrison Smith and [Harrison] Phillips and Danielle [Hunter] and Byron [Murphy] and [Josh] Metellus," coach Kevin O'Connell said. "There's a lot going on within our defense, depending on the game plan, but what Jordan did today kind of rivaled what Harry did [with three sacks] against the Panthers. It just felt like he was not going to be denied a chance to be the guy to go out there and respond."

Hicks is among the players in an interesting situation over the next two weeks, as the Vikings decide whether to trade any veterans with expiring contracts before the Oct. 31 deadline or keep the roster together in hopes of a second-half playoff push.

Speculation about the futures of players like quarterback Kirk Cousins, edge rusher Danielle Hunter and wide receiver K.J. Osborn surfaced last week, though the Vikings have maintained they're not thinking about trading away starters. Losses that further wound the Vikings' playoff hopes — or the right offer — could change that thinking, of course, but as long as the team is maintaining its effort to be competitive this season, experience might be especially important to a defense constantly trying to find the right mix of aggression and discretion.

That's probably the balance the Vikings are searching for, too, and Hicks' story is indicative of the approach they've taken to two seasons where they're trying to meet ownership expectations of competitiveness while dealing with cap constraints. Signed as a midpriced free agent before 2022 and asked to take a pay cut before 2023, he's been repurposed in Flores' defense. His future in Minnesota might be uncertain, but at the moment, he is integral to a group that badly needed his contributions on Sunday.

"It felt good, man. I felt young," he said. "Being 31 and being around all these young guys, you want to prove yourself and that you've still got it. You're a leader, but they look to you like you've been there and done that. I want to show them there's a reason I'm still here. We're having fun out there. That's what you want to do as an older guy."

ONE AREA OF CONCERN

The return of run game inefficiency: For as much as the Vikings talked before the season about building a run game that could string together productive plays, they simply haven't been able to do it consistently through six games. They were only successful on 40.9% of their runs against the Bears; that rate dropped to 33.3% in the second half and sunk to 28.6% in the fourth quarter, when Alexander Mattison gained 14 yards on seven attempts as the Vikings tried to put the game away.

Assessing the offense as a whole, O'Connell talked about a "revolving door of missed assignments from some of our more reliable players." Ineffective blocks showed up from just about every member of the Vikings' run-blocking unit during a quick video review of the offensive plays.

The Vikings will have to see if left guard Ezra Cleveland is ready to return from a foot injury for next Monday's game against the 49ers. Otherwise, the Vikings would turn to Dalton Risner, who replaced Cleveland during the game on Sunday. Whoever is on the field, the Vikings won't find a much tougher test than a San Francisco team that's allowed the fewest points and sixth-fewest rushing yards in the league.

ONE TREND TO WATCH

The Vikings' defensive back usage: Second-round pick Mekhi Blackmon, who played 46 snaps against the Chiefs with Akayleb Evans battling a knee injury, was on the field for just one defensive snap Sunday. He lost playing time to 2022 second-rounder Andrew Booth Jr., whose 26 snaps were his most of the season. Time will tell whether the switch was specific to Sunday's matchup, or indicative of a shift in how the Vikings see their secondary.

Safety Lewis Cine was listed on the team's injury reports last week with the hamstring injury that caused him to miss the Panthers and Chiefs games. But he was a full participant in practice all week and received no injury designation on Friday. Come Sunday he was inactive, in a game where the Vikings used three safeties at least 89% of the time and gave three defensive snaps to Theo Jackson. Rookie Jay Ward played 16 special-teams snaps as well. Coach Kevin O'Connell said he anticipates Cine will be active next Monday against the 49ers, adding his hamstring was still part of the reason the Vikings didn't play him Sunday. "There's a lot of ways to describe a healthy scratch when a guy is working himself back, and then the roles you envision for him for that game. Lew knows we have a 100-percent confidence in him, and I think we'll see his role continue to evolve and grow throughout the season."