Vikings Sign Former Broncos Outside Linebacker Andre Mintze
The Vikings have signed outside linebacker Andre Mintze (pronounced MINTS), they announced on Monday afternoon. He's a 2021 undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt who spent last season with the Broncos and was waived last month.
It's not difficult to see the reasoning behind this move for the Vikings. For starters, you can never have too many pass rushers, and Mintze will jump into an interesting competition at OLB during training camp. There's obviously the familiarity angle, as Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell was the Broncos' DC last year. And finally, there's the stat that keeps popping up time and time again this offseason: the 10-yard split of the 40-yard dash.
The Vikings' new regime, led by GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O'Connell, has prioritized players with fast ten-yard splits — to an extreme degree. That was true of their draft class, but we've also seen it with 90-man signings like LB William Kwenkeu and now Mintze. The Vikings clearly believe that statistic gives depth players a better chance to make an impact, which is presumably coming from their analytics department.
Mintze is a Philadelphia native who turns 24 in September and is listed at 6'3", 249 pounds. He spent five years at Vanderbilt, becoming a major contributor over his last two seasons. Between 2019 and 2020, Mintze recorded 7.5 sacks, 12 total tackles for loss, and 3 forced fumbles.
After going undrafted last year, Mintze signed with the Broncos and impressed enough throughout training camp and the preseason that he made the initial 53-man roster. He saw a handful of defensive snaps over the first three games of the season and also played on special teams. Mintze went on injured reserve with a hamstring injury in October, but was activated and played 39 defensive snaps in Week 17. He was waived in May.
The Vikings' top two outside linebackers are set with Danielle Hunter and Za'Darius Smith, and the next tier on the depth chart includes recent middle-round picks D.J. Wonnum, Patrick Jones II, and Janarius Robinson. Mintze joins an interesting mix of players beyond those five; he'll be competing with fellow UDFAs like Luiji Vilain, Zach McCloud, and Kwenkeu for a spot on the roster or practice squad.
Mintze is the second 2021 Broncos defender on the roster, joining cornerback Nate Hairston.
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