A Certain Vikings Defender Is About to Explode
The Minnesota Vikings have once again revamped their defense this offseason. Isaiah Rodgers will be the new starting corner next to Byron Murphy Jr., and the coaching staff likes Jeff Okudah in the role as the third cornerback. Along the defensive line, folks are excited to see Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen in the building.
A Certain Vikings Defender Is About to Explode
After years of complaining about subpar defensive fronts, the Vikings have built an absolute juggernaut with star players all over the place around the two Pro Bowlers. In the preseason and in training camp, various defenders have flashed their skills, and the room turned out to be extremely deep. That prompted the Vikings to send Harrison Phillips to the New York Jets.
Suddenly, there’s an opening on the line, and that is expected to be filled by a rotation led by Jalen Redmond. He was last year’s breakout star late in the season and even emerged as a starter instead of veteran Jerry Tillery. This summer, there has been plenty of praise for the former undrafted defender, but he was still demoted to the second unit because of the two big-time signings.
While he’s still flying under the radar, number 61 is on his way to becoming a household name. Just last week, Pro Bowler Jonathan Greenard pounded the table for his teammate, “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.”
Redmond has played in 13 regular-season games with the Vikings, logging 18 tackles, one sack, and six tackles for loss. He did that damage in only 208 defensive snaps. Without Phillips, that number should easily double in the upcoming season.
Greenard added, “From that day forward, he got thrown out, he came back in, and was just completely dominating guys. 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.”
The Vikings’ defensive line room looks like this:
- Jonathan Allen
- Javon Hargrave
- Jalen Redmond
- Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
- Levi Drake Rodriguez
- Elijah Williams
- Taki Taimani
- Jonathan Harris
- Travis Bell
Redmond slides up one spot, and the trade allows the Vikings to keep another depth player, in what has been the deepest group on the roster.
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.”
In 2024, Redmond earned Minnesota’s second-best PFF grade among defenders with at least 100 snaps, flashing his playmaking ability. 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, and that door has been pushed wide open on Wednesday.
Last week, when asked about what he has improved most, Redmond suggested: “My run defense, [it has] definitely been a thing for me, just controlling my eyes, and paying attention to what I see. So that’s been my big thing this camp.”
That’s pretty much excellent news for a player who’ll get the chance to step into Phillips’ vacated nose tackle role as a true run-stuffer.
Expect to see much more from Mr. Redmond in the 2025 campaign.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.