Oct 20, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings fans react during the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.
If you’re a Minnesota Vikings fan and you don’t know the name Jalen Redmond, well, pull up a seat.
The upstart defensive tackle continues to turn heads, and Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Falcons represented the latest example.
Redmond, a “throwaway” signing from the 2024 offseason, has turned heads over the last month, so much so that it seems good things happen whenever he’s on the field. It’s time to perceive him as a legitimately dependable defensive lineman, not some guy who occasionally gets lucky.
The Oklahoma alumnus logged another 2 tackles for loss versus Atlanta, along with 2 passes defended (tipped Kirk Cousins passes). He played 39 defensive snaps, or about 53% of the time. In fact, the 25-year-old earned the first start of his career on Sunday.
The Vikings’ defense encountered some woes against Kirk Cousins and friends but figured out the formula at the start of the 4th Quarter. In unison with the offense, Brian Flores’ defense flexed and held the Falcons scoreless the rest of the way after a 21-21 gridlock near the end of the 3rd Quarter.
Redmond, meanwhile, produced plays like this:
And this:
Pro Football Focus has also commended Redmond’s performance, assigning the lineman an 84.8 grade through 14 weeks. In fact, if Redmond qualified for PFF’s snap count requirement, he would rank as the NFL’s fifth-best interior defender, if that can be believed.
Redmond’s sudden emergence is vital because Minnesota’s for-now outlook in 2025 at defensive tackle is grim. Three interior defensive linemen are scheduled to be under contract when the offseason arrives: Harrison Phillips, Taki Taimani, and Levi Drake Rodriguez. That’s it.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah may swing for the fences in acquiring an impact defensive tackle from free agency or the draft — he probably will — but Redmond could be vital for depth on a team that doesn’t have much at DT.
Adofo-Mensah signed Redmond in June, an intriguing transaction because the defender thrived in the UFL. He played 4 games in 2024 with the UFL’s Arlington Renegades, tabulating 4.5 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, and 18 total tackles. That statline was evidently enough to turn heads in the Vikings’ front office, and Redmond parlayed the trial into a roster spot.
Redmond joined the Carolina Panthers’ roster as an undrafted free agent 19 months ago — right around the time Ivan Pace Jr. signed with the Vikings — where he stayed for four months. Carolina said goodbye in August 2023, and Redmond eventually tried the UFL on for size. The experiment worked.
The guy is for real and could be here to stay.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.