Vikings Have 2 Defensive Cornerstones to Build Around
Going into the season with high expectations, the Minnesota Vikings have completely collapsed, especially on offense. Young passers J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer have struggled to lead efficient offenses, and the punter and kicker have been their best friends. Much better is Brian Flores’ defensive unit.
Vikings Have 2 Defensive Cornerstones to Build Around
Flores is once again captaining an aggressive defense. His blitzes stifled Seattle’s high-flying offense on Sunday. The elite connection between Sam Darnold and Jaxon Smith-Njigba looked ordinary versus Minnesota. Of course, it didn’t matter much because the Vikings’ offense flat-out stinks right now.
Once again, all the silver linings can be found on defense. This season, the Vikings have discovered two players who should be future staples. The defense should be built around Dallas Turner and Jalen Redmond.
Turner was the most explosive and disruptive edge defender on the field. He generated several pressures and recorded a pair of QB takedowns. It was the first two-sack game of his career. Furthermore, he also went after the ball and forced two fumbles. One of which he recovered to set up the offense in the red zone. Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t even score in that situation.
Regardless, Turner has strung together three decent games in a row. Jonathan Greenard’s shoulder injury opened the door for him to log extra snaps, and he’s done a wonderful job with four sacks in those three games. The sophomore also picked up 15 tackles, five tackles for loss, and a batted pass.
That’s the kind of player the Vikings hoped they would get when they traded a fortune to bring his services to the Twin Cities.
In his first season, he was buried on the depth chart behind Pro Bowlers Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard. Patrick Jones was the first one off the bench, and there were only a few snaps remaining for Turner.
This year, he has benefited from injuries to both starters, as well as Jones’ departure. But let’s be honest, he has also deserved every single snap. Turner is leading the edge trio in snaps (and sacks). Collecting 31 pressures, 19 hurries, 5.5 sacks, and 47 tackles is a nice haul for a player some had already declared bust-worthy in the past offseason.
Edge rusher is a premium position, and every defense needs someone to wreak havoc. Van Ginkel will turn 31 in the summer and is under contract for one more season. Greenard will turn 29 in the upcoming offseason and is signed through the 2027 season.
It looks like Turner will be stuck in a three-man rotation for at least another year, but his time will come. And don’t forget, he won’t turn 23 before February. It’s almost scary to envision him with another offseason to learn more pass-rush moves and gain extra strength.
Right next to him in plans for the future should be defensive tackle Jalen Redmond. He’s been the breakout player for the Vikings and has arguably been the best player on the entire team this year.
Redmond emerged last year, signing a deal with the Vikings after playing in the UFL. The Panthers moved on from their undrafted rookie in 2023. With the Vikings, he stole more and more snaps from Jerry Tillery and Jonathan Bullard and even earned a starting spot later in the season.
The flashes were there last year, but he has put it all together in 2025. Through the first 12 games, the former University of Oklahoma defender has tabulated four sacks, 43 tackles, and eight tackles for loss. The best aspect is that he’s undoubtedly been even more disruptive than those decent numbers would suggest and has been borderline unblockable.
Turner is under contract for two more seasons, and the team can pick up the fifth-year option. He’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Redmond, meanwhile, is in the final year of his deal, but he’ll be a restricted free agent. The Vikings can just hand him another cheap deal. However, he’s 26, and he’s fantastic. Redmond has earned a new long-term contract with a significant raise.
While there could be a lot of change incoming in the next few months and years, Redmond and Turner should be the foundational pieces of the defensive unit for years to come.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.