3 Vikings Have Earned In-Season Promotions
The Minnesota Vikings own an 11-2 record after 14 weeks, an unforeseen and fabulous record after sportsbooks forecasted the club to win six or seven games when the season kicked off.
3 Vikings Have Earned In-Season Promotions
The purple team can clinch a playoff spot Monday with a win over the Chicago Bears — or — a Los Angeles Rams loss at the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football — or — a Seattle Seahawks loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football.
So far this season, like every campaign, a few Vikings have earned in-season promotions.
These are those three men listed alphabetically.
1. Cam Akers (RB)
Minnesota used RB1 Aaron Jones extensively throughout the season’s first half, and accordingly, minor injuries accumulated.
In October, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah finagled a trade for Cam Akers — he traded for the same guy in 2023, too — an effective RB2 in the Vikings’ offense. Down the stretch of 2024. the offense might depend more on Akers, hoping to reduce Jones’ workload to prepare for the postseason.
What’s more, Jones is 30. It wouldn’t be weird one bit for an injury to knock him down. Then, Minnesota would pivot to Akers as RB1. In either scenario, he’s an X-factor guy.
Akers averages 4.6 yards per rush attempt since reuniting with Minnesota and took Ty Chandler’s RB2 job about a month ago.
2. Jalen Redmond (DT)
Perceived by some as a “throwaway” signing from the 2024 offseason, Redmond 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.
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.
According to the box score, Redmond started last Sunday’s game. That, plus a spike in defensive snaps, warrants a promotion call-out. He could’ve been buried enough on the depth chart not to play at all. But nope — he’s too good, too impactful.
3. Dalton Risner (RG)
Risner took Ed Ingram’s job at right guard in early November and hasn’t looked back.
The 29-year-old took a while to recover from a summer back injury, but now he’s up to his old tricks — protecting the Vikings’ QB1 and showcasing mediocre run-blocking performance.
Risner has posted a 67.5 pass-protection grade, according to Pro Football Focus, and a 53.8 per run-blocking. He’s also penalty-free through 14 weeks.
Many believed he would, indeed, take Ingram’s job at some point in 2024. He did precisely did.
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.
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