Twitching, strength, explosive power and hecticness make Richter something special.
“He just never gives up,” Means said, concluding that Richter’s drive is his greatest strength.
Richter has outstanding short-yardage speed — he showed quick reaction to inside-ball pass-rush tracks on his first and second quarterback takedowns against Las Vegas — and processing skills, relying on sudden movements and play recognition to get ahead of linemen at landmarks rather than latching on and then disengaging.
While it’s difficult, it’s not impossible to defeat blocks against players who are sometimes half a foot taller and 60 pounds heavier.
“I feel like I can do anything the edge can do, but I handle it a little differently,” he said.
Richter’s tenacity, which Means described as his desire to make every possible play within the defensive scheme and a “good feel for the ball” (a term used by draft analyst Lance Zierlein on NFL.com), is the key to success.
These are qualities that Richter focuses on in his film studies.
“I think a lot of guys bring different things that you can incorporate into your game,” Richter said, naming his favorite players as his recent opponent Maxx Crosby of the Raiders, new Jets pass rusher Haason Reddick (closer in size to Richter) and Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller.
“It was actually pretty cool to see Maxx Crosby out there. He’s a very different player than me — he’s kind of the stereotype, he’s really long and lanky and uses his length really well — but I love watching him play because his motor is firing,” Richter said. “It literally looks like the (Las Vegas) coaches are pulling him every time he goes out there because that’s the last play he can make in the game and every snap is like that. I admire that a lot and try to model my game after that.”
It’s a style that resonates well with the Vikings’ coaches. Richter felt wanted by Minnesota; it was obvious that it was a good fit.
“The Vikings were the only team that did a Zoom call with me,” Richter said, noting that his contact with clubs exploded after he performed extremely well at his Pro Day (Richter’s relative athletic score of 9.91 ranked 24th out of 2,686 linebackers in the RAS database from 1987-2024). “I had contact with 22 or 23 teams before the draft, but it was all about ‘What’s the best phone number to call on draft day?’ They weren’t really in-depth conversations.”
He had a more insightful conversation with Mike Pettine, the Vikings’ assistant head coach and outside linebackers coach. After that, Richter researched the personnel to gauge how the Vikings might use him.
“It made sense for me as a below-average edge player,” Richter said, praising the vision of defensive coordinator Brian Flores. “(It) was the best fit for me because he uses guys in a variety of ways.”
Richter’s agent told him that his chances of going in the sixth or seventh round or not being drafted were 50/50. Richter dreamed of being selected, but wasn’t really disappointed with the outcome.
“I’m never going to get upset about something like that,” he said. “I believe God has a plan for me and there’s a plan that’s been laid out for me. I don’t know what it is, so I’m going to wait until it happens – I’m going to control what’s in my power.”
“You’ll remember that you weren’t drafted,” Richter added. “So-and-so was drafted before you. As an athlete, you use every competitive advantage you have, and that’s a good incentive for me.”
