The Miami Dolphins expect Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores to test rookie left guard Kadyn Proctor early and often on Sunday, with Flores’ aggressive pressure packages helping fuel Minnesota’s unbeaten start despite the league’s lowest-ranked offense.
Proctor ready for the challenge
Proctor said he assumes Flores will identify him as a potential pressure target in his first NFL season, but the rookie does not intend to retreat from the matchup.
“That’s probably fair,” Proctor said. “I know teams have gone after me already, and I see myself as someone they may try to exploit. But I’m not intimidated by it. Bring it on.”
The rookie has lined up beside left tackle Patrick Paul and has produced a steady opening three-game stretch. Next Gen Stats credited Proctor with allowing a half-sack and eight quarterback pressures, with only one classified as a quick pressure.
Minnesota’s pressure surge
- The Vikings entered Sunday at 3-0, even while ranking last in the NFL in total offense.
- Minnesota is averaging 238.3 total yards per game, 137 passing yards per game and 4.3 yards per play, while its 39 first downs are also the fewest in the league.
- Its 715 total offensive yards are the second-lowest output by a 3-0 team through three games since 1970.
- Flores’ defense has compensated by blitzing on 71.1% of opposing dropbacks, the highest full-season pace recorded since 2016.
- The unit’s 46.7% pressure rate is the highest such pace since 2018, and its 14 sacks lead the NFL.
Minnesota has posted at least four sacks and two takeaways in each of its first three games. That places the 2026 Vikings among only five teams in the past four decades to open a season with that combination in three straight contests.
The other teams were the 2024 Vikings, 2018 Chicago Bears, 1993 New Orleans Saints and 1989 Washington. Flores now has two defenses represented on that list.
Miami prepares for every possibility
Right tackle Austin Jackson spent the 2019 season under Flores when Flores was Miami’s head coach. He said the Dolphins cannot assume the Vikings will simply keep sending extra rushers, even with their overwhelming blitz numbers.
“He brings pressure frequently in certain spots, but it is all about the situation,” Jackson said. “We can study every pressure look, but he might decide to rush fewer players and force the offense to diagnose coverage instead. You never fully know what is coming, so the preparation is about recognizing every blitz and being ready to respond Sunday.”
For Proctor and the Dolphins’ offensive line, the assignment is clear: Minnesota’s record has been built less on offensive production than on Flores creating disruption, and the rookie guard expects to be part of the Vikings’ next pressure plan.
