MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings went into free agency with a series of priorities. First they had to address their pass rush. Nothing would fix Minnesota’s defense, the worst one coach Mike Zimmer said he ever had, if it couldn’t pressure quarterbacks.
Rush and cover is a phrase reiterated by Vikings coaches and others around the NFL and involves two defensive assets working in harmony to force offenses off the field on third down. That led the Vikings to sign defensive end Stephen Weatherly and defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson in free agency.