Who is the Vikings' Most Underrated Player in 2024?
Ahead of the 2024 season, who is the Vikings' most underrated player? In other words, which player on the roster, more than any other, doesn't get the respect they deserve? That could be locally or nationally, but the latter feels more relevant to this specific question. PFF recently named the most underrated player on all 32 teams, and they went with second-year linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. as the pick for the Vikings.
"Pace burst onto the scene as an undrafted rookie in 2023 and was the third-highest-graded linebacker in the entire NFL after three weeks. While his performance tailed off a bit and his playing time was reduced, he remained very productive on pass plays. Pace was one of just two linebackers to earn PFF grades over 77.0 for both coverage and pass rush, the other being Fred Warner."
Pace feels like a perfectly reasonable selection. He was truly a revelation as an undrafted rookie last year, becoming a key piece for the Vikings and one of the 20 or so best off-ball linebackers in the entire league. Even with his size limitations, it feels foolish to bet on a guy with his track record continuing to play at a high level in year two — and perhaps even getting better. Pace is an outstanding player who is incredibly fun to watch, and most NFL fans outside of Minnesota (and Cincinnati) probably still don't know much about him.
But the Vikings have several other standouts who would also be worthy of being deemed the team's most underrated player. Josh Metellus, who has gone from sixth-round pick and special teams ace to the league's most versatile safety, jumps out. So does another third of the Vikings' safety trio, Camryn Bynum, who was fantastic last season. I also think you could make a case for ultra-consistent right tackle Brian O'Neill or even left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who is as good as any OT in the league despite not yet having a Pro Bowl or All-Pro nod. You can't really go wrong with any of those five players.
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WILL RAGATZ
Will Ragatz is the publisher of Inside the Vikings, an SI.com channel in the Fan Nation network. He's in his fourth season as a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat writer, covering the team at practices, games, and all offseason long. Will posts daily Vikings articles year-round. Not only is he on top of all the latest news, he provides the analysis and context to put the news into perspective. He knows the team inside and out, which allows him to bring depth and quality to his coverage. From free agency to the draft to training camp and the NFL season, Will covers every relevant story surrounding the Vikings. Prior to taking this role in 2019, Will attended Northwestern University and studied at the renowned Medill School of Journalism. As a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball, among other sports, for SB Nation's Inside NU. Will was a co-editor-in-chief of the site during his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned at Sports Illustrated's newsroom in New York City, writing articles primarily on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com. A native of Minneapolis who still resides in the city, Will grew up a diehard Minnesota sports fan. He played baseball at Southwest High School and wrote for the student newspaper.