Almost Quietly, The Vikings’ GM Has Added Reinforcements to a Main Roster Weakness
To be sure, Minnesota still has a lot of work to do at defensive tackle once the offseason hits. Nevertheless, don’t miss what’s playing out in front of us even if it’s easy to lose sight of it.
The Vikings’ GM has almost quietly put together a fascinating blend of defensive tackle talent on the current roster. On the one hand, there are the established veterans who are soaking up most of the snaps: Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Bullard, and Jerry Tillery. On the other hand, there are the late-round and UDFA youngsters: Jalen Redmond, Taki Taimani, and Levi Drake Rodriguez. Do these final three names represent both the present and the future at defensive tackle?
The Vikings’ GM and The DT Position
Several months ago when the NFL was speculating about free agency, no shortage of purple ink was spilled when considering the possibility of Christian Wilkins joining the Vikings. Still in the prime of his career, Wilkins is an elite talent who plays a position of need and who has a history with Brian Flores.
Perfect fit, right?
By the time the dust settled, Wilkins took his talents over to Sin City. Meanwhile, Minnesota pivoted toward the edge rusher position. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah added Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Jihad Ward. Bringing Tillery to town gave the team another option in the pass rush, someone to offer a bit of upside from the 3T/5T spot.
Even better, the draft involved selecting Dallas Turner, someone who oozes upside and potential. Toss the rookie alongside those free-agent adds and then a revitalized Patrick Jones. The end result has been a Brian Flores defense that has been doing just fine when it comes to ransacking opposing offenses.
Simmering underneath the surface of that more obvious reality, though, are the contributions from the young DTs.
Coming out of the draft, Levi Drake Rodriguez snagged a lot of praise. Go back and re-read some of the words from Kevin O’Connell. Mr. Rodriguez has some fans among Minnesota’s top leaders even if he just recently got his NFL career off the ground.
One also thinks of Jalen Redmond, an athletically-gifted defensive tackle who slid out of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Carolina Panthers welcomed him to the NFL but he wasn’t able to stick around with the flailing franchise. Instead, he went over to the UFL. Consider some of what he accomplished while there: “Signed with the UFL’s Arlington Renegades in the spring of 2024, where he appeared in four games and recorded 18 total tackles, including five for loss, and 4.5 sacks.”
He is now on the Vikings’ 53-man roster. In just 64 snaps, Redmond is sitting on 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 QB hit, and 3 tackles for loss. PFF gives him a sizzling 81.1 grade for his efforts, suggesting that he has been winning a lot of his reps. Does he deserve a greater portion of the defensive snaps?
Less of a pass rusher, Taimani is nursing an injury, but he was playing an important role as a big body in the middle of the defense. Clogging up running lanes while soaking up double teams is a key part of playing good run defense. To that end, the 25-year-old Taimani is helpful. He has earned 70 snaps on Brian Flores’ defense.
Make no mistake: there’s more work that needs to be done at defensive tackle. Minnesota is working toward having some ample cap space in 2025, so they’ll again have the chance to scoop up one of free agency’s best options at the position. So, too, will the 2025 NFL Draft be a spot where Minnesota could look to add someone.
In an ideal world, the DT add(s) will be someone who can collapse the pocket.
Nonetheless, we should consider the work that has already been done to reinforce the position. Jalen Redmond, Taki Taimani, and Levi Drake Rodriguez are all hanging around the roster; the first two players have seen game action and have had a positive impact. On Sunday, look for #61 in particular — Mr. Redmond — as the Vikings march into Soldier Field looking to overcome the Bears.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.
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