By A to Z Sports,Tyler Forness

Copyright yardbarker

Brian Flores identified Isaiah Rodgers early on in free agency

The first signing by the Vikings in free agency was Rodgers, who agreed to a two-year deal worth over $11 million. It’s a common tactic the Vikings have taken with other free agents they believe to have potential much higher than their current value.

Head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about why they targeted Rodgers and he was very straightforward with his answer: defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

“Well, it starts with [Brian Flores],” said O’Connell about prioritizing Rodgers in free agency. “I can remember vividly the conversation with Flores about him, and the vision pairing him with Murph [Byron Murphy Jr.], and what we thought that could be like. Flo, I don’t want to go through the time we’ve been together, and those types of names, when he’s got that tone in his voice, when he brings it to me, and we collaborate with the personnel side.

“But Isaiah is on that list of guys, and the other ones that he’s mentioned have turned out pretty darn well here. So I think it’s a matter of Flo’s impact and his ability to have vision for players like we’ve seen here with two free agencies now, where there’s been an immediate impact on our team and end up being great Minnesota Vikings for us.”

It’s no surprise that Flores was behind it. During training camp, Flores told reporters in training camp that Rodgers has been on his radar since his playing days at UMass, and it makes sense. Rodgers is such a good fit for what Flores wants to do on defense, and it helps that the Vikings aren’t worried about his smaller stature (5-10, 175 lbs).

The historic performance isn’t something that we can expect to be duplicated, but his positive play over the first three games is a really good sign for the unit. Rodgers will continue to find more difficult tests during the season, but passing this one against Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins is a great start.

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