Vikings Defender Wants to Give an Unsung Teammate More Reps
This offseason, the Minnesota Vikings added a pair of big-name defensive tackles in Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen. The pair of two-time Pro Bowlers met at the 2021 Pro Bowl and will, hopefully, meet at the quarterback a few times in the upcoming season. Their arrival hurt the chances of another defender.
Vikings Defender Wants to Give an Unsung Teammate More Reps
Jalen Redmond, last year’s breakout defender for the purple squad, went from the first man on the depth chart behind only veteran Harrison Phillips to fourth. Another standout defender, Jonathan Greenard, still thinks his teammate will make some noise.
Asked about him on Thursday, Greenard started by saying, “Oh, J-Red is a dawg. J-Red [has been] a dawg since last year in camp. I knew he was a dawg when he got thrown out of practice last year in camp.”
Coaches hate practice fights, but players respect them, at least when they aren’t involved. For Greenard, it was a sign of more to come from that no-name player, who went undrafted a year prior and then spent some time in the XFL. A defensive tackle with the number 61 isn’t too intimidating at first glance.
“From that day forward, he got thrown out, he came back in, and was just completely dominating guys,” Greenard added. “And at that point, even to see it during the season and see him just continuously build … everyone knew he had another gear, but when you bring two guys like [Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen], you think he gets put on the wayside or anything like that, or he gets behind.”
Redmond made plays in last year’s preseason and earned a spot on the 53-man roster. A few weeks in, other teams had the chance to snatch him when the Vikings demoted him to the practice squad, but nobody called. Instead, he was back on the team in November because Taki Taimani suffered an injury.
That opened some playing time for the defender, and he showed enormous promise in his NFL debut season, as he didn’t qualify for Carolina’s team in his actual rookie season. Towards the end of the campaign, Redmond even stole Jerry Tillery’s starting job, and he continued to make plays.
In 13 games (two starts), Redmond produced a sack, 18 tackles, six tackles for loss, and batted two passes. He was a rare playmaker along Minnesota’s defensive line. The first-year Viking earned the second-highest grade of all players on his team from PFF with at least 100 snaps.
Asked about his own game, Redmond said after Thursday’s practice that run defense has been an area of improvement for him, and the added experience helps him slow down the game.
Pro Bowler Greenard concluded, “No, that brother is right there making the same plays he was last year, if not more. And that just helps us out to know there’s no drop-off whenever those guys need a breather and we can always throw him in and rely on him. Jalen is a dawg. He is always going to get respect. If I’m the coach, I’m putting him in.”
After the season, the Vikings re-signed Redmond to another cheap one-year contract, worth $960,000. If he can continue to grow, that’s an easy bargain. He’ll start the season behind the three veterans. The trio has struggled with injuries in the past and isn’t getting any younger, so the Vikings will surely emphasize rest and rotate a lot.
Based on camp reports and last year’s play, the second-year Vikings should be expected to be ahead of last year’s rookies Levi Drake Rodriguez and Taki Taimani, as well as this year’s fifth-rounder Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins.
Redmond, 26, will have a big season if you ask Mr. Greenard.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.