MINNEAPOLIS -- In an offseason when they made few entries into the free-agent market, there might not have been a position where the Minnesota Vikings tried to be more active than defensive end. The team made a strong push for former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Michael Johnson before he ultimately opted to rejoin his old team in Cincinnati. The Vikings expressed interest in Adrian Clayborn and George Selvie at the beginning of free agency, before ultimately settling on a pair of additions in journeyman Caesar Rayford and third-round pick Danielle Hunter.
Rayford impressed scouts with a fervent workout at the NFL veterans' combine, and the Vikings think the 20-year-old Hunter has a chance to be a force in their defense. But if the team is going to get additional help for its defensive end rotation in 2015, it might come from second-year player Scott Crichton, who was a third-round pick a year ago and got lost in the shuffle as a rookie.
Like Anthony Barr and David Yankey, Crichton came from a Pac-12 school on the quarters system, and didn't join the Vikings until June. He left school a year early, in part to help his parents financially, and he was asked to undergo a crash course on a system that asks linemen to be stout against the run before they pursue the quarterback. Crichton wasn't able to master the system in Year 1, and spent most of 2014 on the inactive list, while Brian Robison and Everson Griffen logged more than 900 snaps apiece.
He caught the Vikings' attention with his improvement early in the team's offseason program, though, and Crichton has gotten plenty of work at left end during organized team activities with Robison sidelined because of a pectoral injury he sustained during a May workout. Considering the uncertainty around Robison's injury -- a league source said at the time the injury wasn't serious, while defensive coordinator George Edwards said "I hope so" last week when asked if Robison would be ready for training camp -- Crichton's emergence comes at a good time.
"I just think he feels a lot more comfortable with what we're asking him to do technique and fundamental-wise, where he's got a lot more recall," Edwards said. "As opposed to last year, he came in for the rookie minicamp, then missed all of that time, came back and boom -- training camp. I think it all kind of got too fast for him there. Now he's able to break things down and he's got good recall of what we're asking out of the position."
The Vikings talked after last year's draft about Crichton's ability to move inside as a pass-rusher in nickel situations, and he could get some work in the nickel this year. His ability to anchor the end of the line against the run, however, could be his ticket to more playing time, especially as the 32-year-old Robison works back from injury. Robison's strength will probably be as a pass-rusher, and it's worth watching how Crichton handles the run, particularly as the Vikings weigh whether Robison can return in a significant role in 2016. He will secure the final guaranteed money in his deal on July 1 -- the remaining $2.15 million of Robison's 2015 base salary will be guaranteed if he's on the roster -- and the Vikings could cut him next year with only $2 million in signing bonus prorations left on his contract. With a $3.05 million cap savings available to the Vikings if they cut Robison next year, a restructured contract could be on the way, especially if the team gets a sense Crichton can handle a bigger role.
The 23-year-old is getting his chance to try that role out now, and the Vikings seem to like what they've seen so far.
"He's going to outwork a lot of guys. That's his mindset," Edwards said. "He's a blue collar, out-work you (guy). We're playing him outside; he's shown the flexibility to play inside in our nickel package. From that aspect of it, we're pleased where he's at right now. We just need to finish this offseason strong and carry it into the opening of training camp."
