As Vikings Retool D-Line, A Hulking Trench Defender Creates NFL Feeding Frenzy
Right now, the Vikings are sorting through the reality of seeing north of 1,300 snaps at defensive tackle depart. Does adding a veteran trench defender make sense?
If so, then consider someone whom Minnesota previously expressed interest in signing.
Consider what ESPN’s Adam Schefter had to say: “Free-agent DT Christian Wilkins fully intends to play this season, but still is rehabbing his foot injury, per his agent David Mulugheta. So far 26 teams have reached out and are waiting for Wilkins to be ready, and Wilkins is expected to have a new home as soon as he wants.”
Trench Defender Christian Wilkins & The Need in MIN
Admittedly, there’s some purple dot connecting taking place.
The 2024 offseason featured a bidding war for Mr. Wilkins. Minnesota, fresh off a very promising season with Brian Flores leading the defense, needed help up front. The marriage made sense, but Las Vegas ended up dropping down major money to turn the Dolphin into a Raider: a four-year agreement promising to pay $110 million.
Wisely, the Vikings pivoted off that kind of financial commitment, instead bringing in talent such as Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, Blake Cashman, and several others in what was a masterful free agency from Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
Fast forward a couple of seasons and Wilkins’s appeal has cooled off. Or, at least, there won’t be any bidding wars that push the money above $100 million even if the vast majority of the league still wants to give him a shot.
The trench defender played in just five games in Las Vegas in 2024. He offered up 17 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 6 quarterback hits. The veteran’s injury problems alongside a bizarre kissing incident with a teammate (CBS) will lead to a far different contract for the 2026 season.
Previously, Christian Wilkins has offered elite play. The PFF grades came in at 83.3 in 2021, Wilkins’s final season playing under the tutelage of Coach Flores. He then went on to toss up an 85.1 grade in 2022 and then a 74.9 grade in 2023.
The final season in Miami (2023) is what largely fuelled that huge payday. He started all seventeen games, picking up 65 tackles to stand alongside 10 tackles for loss, 9 sacks, 23 quarterback hits, 2 passes defended, 1 forced fumble, and 2 fumble recoveries. Elite production.
As things stand, the Vikings are sorting through an unusually inexperienced cluster of DT talent. Maybe that’s a good thing, but do note that Coach Flores has always had veteran options at the position in his time as Minnesota’s defensive coordinator. Think Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard, Dean Lowry, Jihad Ward, Jerry Tillery, Jonathan Allen, and Javon Hargrave.
Contrast the experience of those players with who is on the roster presently:
- DT1 Jalen Redmond, 27
- DT2 Levi Drake Rodriguez, 25
- DT3 Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, 22
- DT4 Taki Taimani, 26
- DT5 Elijah Williams, 23
- DT6 Jaylon Hutchings, 26
Of that crew of talent, Redmond is the most established (it’s not close). Even he, though, is someone who is only moving into his third full NFL season after being an undrafted talent who was then plucked out of a spring football league. Otherwise, there are Day 3 picks alongside undrafted players. Nobody has played a third full season yet.
By no means does that mean that the crew won’t succeed, it’s simply to note that Minnesota hasn’t often taken this approach. Flores has always had an elder statesman (or two) to work from within his d-line rotation.
Christian Wilkins comes in at a hulking 6’4″ and 310 pounds. He was drafted at No. 13 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft. Brian Flores had just taken over as the Miami head coach. Later on, Miami opted for an edge rusher named Andrew Van Ginkel in the 5th of the same draft.
Schefter reports that 26 of the NFL’s 32 have expressed some level of interest. Excluding Miami and Las Vegas means that there are only four teams who haven’t formally reached out as of Schefter’s update, creating a scenario where Minnesota very plausibly is among the interested teams.
If the price is right, the Vikings could add a veteran trench defender who has a Flores connection and who fills a roster need. He wouldn’t factor into the compensatory picks calculation.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
