3 Vikings Rumors: When a New Safety Gets Added, Flores Blitzing Less, and Puzzle Piece Clicks
As we enter the portion of the year when Vikings rumors still linger, we’ll be highlighting some of the purple rumblings.
The “Vikings Rumor Wrangle” is a series that keeps readers informed on what’s being whispered about in Vikings Land. In this iteration, we discuss the Vikings adding a new safety in the 2026 NFL Draft, Brian Flores blitzing less and less, as well as the final o-line puzzle piece having arrived.
Vikings Rumors: 05.14.2025
Rumor #1 — When the Vikings Will Add a New Safety
Any chance Kwesi Adofo-Mensah looked into his crystal ball and saw an abundance of talent in the 2026 draft? If so, then the GM’s evaluation would match that of a popular draft analyst.
Ryan Fowler does work for The Draft Network. In late April, Fowler passed along a specific thought about the upcoming safeties in ’26: “A few ballplayers in on tape & MANNN the potential of this ‘26 safety class is going to be fun to keep an eye on.” Right afterwards, Fowler tosses down the names of more than ten safeties to monitor.
Consider, for instance, Caleb Downs, a safety who was a teammate of Donovan Jackson at Ohio State. Adofo-Mensah loves drafting from major college programs and players who have won a championship. Downs has that working to his advantage. Last season, he had 82 tackles, 2 interceptions, 6 passes defended, and 0.5 sacks. He offers good size at 6’0″ and 205 pounds while being moved all over Ohio State’s defense (PFF).
In all likelihood, Harrison Smith is moving into his final season. A future consisting of Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson, and then a highly-picked safety from the 2026 NFL Draft makes a lot of sense. Assuming Metellus gets his extension, the Vikings would then proceed with a high-paid safety, a middle-class safety, and a cheap safety.
Rumor #2 — Brian Flores is Going to Blitz Less
Two seasons isn’t a pattern. Pushing things up to three could be one, though.
Brian Flores got his Vikings career started in style, rapidly improving a Vikings defense with talent deficits. He did so largely due to his blitzing prowess; the DC is a sophisticated tactician who chooses to go on attack mode with great regularity. The 2023 season saw Minnesota finish at first in the NFL by sending an extra man (or men) a whopping 51.5% of the time.
Move forward into 2024 and the Vikings again took a step forward on defense. Predictably, part of that step forward involved blitzing less. Possessing more pass rusher talent meant not being so reliant on creating pressure out of thin air, instead being able to let the guys up front beat blockers with greater regularity. Once again, Brian Flores saw his team lead the NFL in blitzing, but there was an extra rusher(s) just 38.9% of the time.
What does 2025 hold? Coming back are Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, quietly one of the NFL’s best pass-rushing tandems. Complementing them from the interior are free-agent adds Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. The wild card? Seeing Dallas Turner explode. If the sophomore jumps instead of slumps, then the NFL better watch out.
Rumor #3 — The Vikings’ Final OL Puzzle Piece Has Clicked Into Place
There’s been an awful lot of smoke for there not to be a fire.
Kevin O’Connell has been outspoken when praising new add Donovan Jackson. The head coach certainly makes it sound like Mr. Jackson is the final puzzle piece, the one who is going to complete the fivesome in front of J.J. McCarthy.
A piece on Vikings Territory passes along several of the quotes. O’Connell wondered aloud about what Jackson’s addition could mean: “Envisioning [Jackson] being on a front with potentially Ryan Kelly and Christian Darrisaw, Will Fries and Brian O’Neill. That’s a pretty formidable group on paper. We’ve got to make it come to life on the grass.”
There was then a conversation with Kay Adams about the rationale for the pick: “Yeah, I think that draft pick was really — ultimate teams in this league, as they build their offseason plan, the teams that can pair free agency and the draft together, so that when the draft comes around, you can take the best player available. Take the player that can have a clean path to a significant role with your team.”
As a final thought, consider what O’Connell said to Rich Eisen: “To find Donovan Jackson available at pick 24, we were really excited about that, and really completed the full cycle. We still have Blake Brandel, who played a lot of good football for us a year ago and still very much should be considered part of the plans.”
Kevin O’Connell gets a Brandel mention in there, but it’s hard to be too optimistic about the veteran’s chance of continuing as a starter. Moving him out in a trade could clear $3.25 million in cap space.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, Sports Reference CFB, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
If they Play their Cards Right, Could The Vikings Complete the Triple Play?
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and Bluesky (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.