Vikings continue to help their defensive line by signing DT Linval Joseph

Linval Joseph has been an underrated force over the last three years. (Rich Schultz/Getty Images) The Minnesota Vikings re-signed defensive ends Brian Robison

Doug Farrar | Mar 11, 2014

Vikings continue to help their defensive line by signing DT Linval Joseph /

Linval Joseph has been an underrated force over the last three years. (Rich Schultz/Getty Images)

The Minnesota Vikings re-signed defensive ends Brian Robison (last season) and Everson Griffen (a few days ago) in an effort to rebuild a formerly great defense that had fallen short in recent times with a few key players. And with the Jared Allen era now a thing of the past -- Allen was last seen visiting the Denver Broncos -- general manager Rick Spielman took a decisive step forward in that reconstruction effort by agreeing to terms with former New York Giants defensive tackle Linval Joseph. Joseph will receive a five-year, $31.5 million contract and will anchor the interior of Minnesota's defensive line alongside tackle Sharrif Floyd, one of Minnesota's three first-round picks in 2013.

The 6-foot-4, 328-pound Joseph was selected by the Giants in the second round of the 2012 draft out of East Carolina, and after a rookie campaign in which he played in just six games and started none, Joseph really started to shine in the 2011 season. He had two sacks and 34 solo tackles that year, and he's improved as a pass disruptor in every season since. In 2013, Joseph had three sacks and a host of pressures for a man his size, matching his 2011 career-high in tackles.

Joseph was Pro Football Focus' 21st-ranked defensive tackle regardless of scheme in 2013, putting up 26 run stops, eight quarterback hits and 11 quarterback hurries in addition to his more traditional numbers.

Grade: A. The Vikings got a bit of a steal here. With all of their recent defensive tackles outside of Floyd in the wind, they needed a young cornerstone player who could come in immediately and excel in several ways. Now, Minnesota's front four is one of the most formidable in the league.

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Published Mar 11, 2014

DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009, Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine. He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.