EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- During his first season in Minnesota, it seemed like Sharrif Floyd had gotten lost somewhere on the way to succeeding Kevin Williams' as the Vikings' next disruptive three-technique defensive tackle. The Minnesota Vikings' coaching staff had planned to have Floyd split snaps with Williams as a rookie but wound up using Floyd only 39.6 percent of the time, as he struggled to master a system that turned out not to fit him terribly well.

When Mike Zimmer became the head coach in January and brought in a new defensive system, the change, for Floyd, began with baby steps -- somewhat literally.

Zimmer's system asks defensive tackles to use a different set of footwork than they were employing in the Vikings' old Cover 2 scheme, where three-technique tackles like Floyd and Williams were asked to push upfield with big first steps, surging past offensive linemen into the backfield. Instead, Zimmer brought in a system where tackles were taught to take a quick, short first step, which would still leave them in position to engage blockers and play the run before working to the quarterback. He started his time with the Vikings by stripping his defensive approach down to its basic details, teaching linemen the footwork he wanted them to use early in the Vikings' OTAs.

"It was new to me," Floyd said. "I never was told to play that way (before). But Coach wanted me to do it, so I was going to work at it. After a while, it was comfortable. I played faster and stronger at holding the point in the run game with the short steps. Pass rush, you can take your long steps, because that's what you need to do, but it helped me a lot in the run game."

Half a season into his time with Zimmer, Floyd has shown signs of being the disruptive player the Vikings thought he could be when they took him 23rd overall in the 2013 draft. He had eight tackles, including one for loss, and a sack in the win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and he stood out the week before against the Buffalo Bills as well. The Vikings have moved Floyd to nose tackle on several occasions and even bumped him out to a five-technique defensive end alignment in a three-man front last week. Those things have helped him get different matchups against opposing offensive lines, but the major change comes from the comfort level Floyd has found in Zimmer's system.

"I think (defensive line coach Andre) Patterson is doing a great job coaching him; I think Sharrif would probably tell you that," Zimmer said. "I think our guys are learning the things we're trying to teach them. Hopefully it continues to show on Sundays."

Zimmer said one of the reasons he likes dealing with young players is the chance he gets to mold them in the techniques of his defense, without any preconceived notions. He didn't get that opportunity with Floyd as a rookie, but the chance came soon enough in Floyd's career that the 23-year-old hasn't had to erase much technique from his memory banks. Time will tell whether Floyd can be this effective as a three-technique tackle on a regular basis, but he's shown more in recent weeks than he had through the first 20 games or so of his career with the Vikings.

"I think it's the game plan that the coaches put in place and the way they want me to play my technique now," Floyd said. "It's just comfort in knowing what I need to do."