Vikings Season Snap Counts: Trio of backs reshape run game

By Tom Dierberger
Published

It may seem like ages ago, but before the 2017 offseason was underway, the Minnesota Vikings were questioning what they were going to do at running back.

Adrian Peterson was past his prime and general manager Rick Spielman wasn’t about to shell out $18 million to the all-time great, especially after the Vikings finished dead last in the NFL with 75.3 rushing yards per game in 2016.



So the purple declined Peterson’s option and instead signed Latavius Murray from the Raiders, kept Jerick McKinnon on the depth chart and drafted Dalvin Cook in the second round.

The trio of backs combined to help boost Minnesota’s rushing attack to seventh in the NFL at 122.3 yards per game.

Cook worked his way to become the starter as the season kicked off in September, but a torn ACL in early October limited him to 169 snaps (13.4 percent).

So Murray and McKinnon took over.

Murray ended the season as the Vikings’ leading rusher with 842 yards on 216 attempts, but it was McKinnon who saw the most action on the field. McKinnon played in 625 snaps (49.4 percent) compared to Murray’s 470 (37.2 percent).

McKinnon averaged 3.8 yards per carry (150 attempts, 570 yards), but it was his pass catching out of the backfield that made the biggest impact. His 51 receptions are the most for a Vikings running back since Moe Williams caught 65 passes in 2003.

Murray contributed in short-yardage situations, something the Vikings struggled with in 2016. The “Tay Train” scored eight touchdowns inside the red zone including seven from the 5-yard line or closer, bumping the Vikings from 26th (46 percent in 2016) to 13th (56 percent in 2017) in red-zone touchdown percentage.

With McKinnon set to be an unrestricted free agent, he could be catching passes out of the backfield elsewhere next season.

But the Vikings’ backfield will be in good shape in 2018, no matter who’s playing at quarterback in front of them.

Speaking of which …

Other notes from 2017 Vikings snap counts:

­-- The quarterback carousel of Case Keenum, Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater is over. Here’s how it ended: Keenum played in 92 percent of the snaps (1,164 of 1,264), Bradford was active in just over seven percent and Bridgewater’s nine snaps completed his comeback from the tragic knee injury in 2016.

-- If 2017 was Joe Berger’s final season in the NFL, the Vikings got the most out of him. Berger, in his 14th season, missed just two plays (1262 of 1264) while splitting time at center and guard.

-- Adam Thielen played in 74.7 percent of the snaps last season, but he upped it to almost 93 percent in 2017 en route to his first career Pro Bowl nomination.

-- Third-round pick center Pat Elflein saw the most action among Vikings rookies (1,084, 85.8 percent). He was followed by fourth-round pick linebacker Ben Gedeon (271, 24 percent), fifth-rounder offensive lineman Danny Isidora (147 snaps, 11.6 percent), Fourth-round pick defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson (61, 5.4 percent) and seventh-rounder wide receiver Stacey Coley (20, 1.6 percent).

-- A pair of undrafted free agents made their way onto the field this year: defensive end Tashawn Bower (10 snaps) and offensive tackle Aviante Collins (39 snaps).

-- Five Vikings defenders played in over 90 percent of the snaps: safety Harrison Smith, linebackers Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr and cornerbacks Trae Waynes and Xavier Rhodes. Last season, Barr was the only member of the defense to reach that mark.

-- Defensive end Everson Griffen set a career high with 13.0 sacks while playing in 80.6 percent of the snaps.

-- Veterans defensive end Brian Robison and cornerback Terence Newman played major roles in the Vikings’ top-ranked defense. Robison saw 56.8 percent of the action while Newman was in for 54.3 percent of the plays.

 

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SEASON TOTALS (DEFENSE)