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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Tyler Forness

Vikings 90-man roster player profile: DE Dean Lowry

Welcome to the beginning of our 2023 season preview content!

Over the next few weeks, we will be looking at each player on the 90-man roster in-depth with backgrounds and how they currently project forward on the Minnesota Vikings roster.

What is the best-case scenario? What is the worst-case scenario? What should we expect from them during the preseason and beyond? We will break all of that down here.

As a staff, all of us at Vikings Wire ranked the entire 90-man roster 1-90 and will be releasing player profiles in reverse order.

Background

USA Today Sports

Name: Dean Lowry

Rank: 18

Height: 6’6″

Weight: 296 lbs

Experience: 8th year

College: Northwestern

Stats (In NFL): 111 games, 80 starts, 252 tackles, 23.0 tackles for loss, 34 quarterback hits, 15.5 sacks, 16 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, 4 fumble recoveries

Votes:

Tyler Forness: 15

Kevin Fielder: 17

Judd Zulgad: 19

Saivion Mixson: 18

Average: 17.25

Best case scenario

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Lowry comes in and plays on the same level as Dalvin Tomlinson did last year. His 2021 was his best season with 5.0 sacks and 42 total pressures in being a force for the Packers on their defensive line. The idea of signing Lowry to a more inexpensive contract than what Tomlinson got is a Moneyball approach. If you can get 60-80% of Tomlinson for 28% of the money, it’s a win for the Vikings.

Worst case scenario

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

He doesn’t revert back to his 2021 form and he continues the regression that began last season. Lowry’s pressures shrank from 42 to 17. He played a significantly lesser snap count, but played in all 17 games both seasons. Taking a step backward would be brutal for the Vikings who are counting on Lowry to be a key contributor this season.

What to expect in 2023

USA Today Sports

The likely outcome is that Lowry is somewhere between his 2021 and 2022 seasons. Being a solid player on the defensive line is what the Vikings should hope for in 2023. If they get more of that, the Moneyball approach from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will gain creedence.

The Real Forno Show

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