5 Unsung Heroes for the Vikings So Far
The Vikings’ 2025 season has been a mixed bag. Through six games, there has been the good, the bad, and the ugly. Minnesota sits with a 3-3 record as they prepare to travel to Los Angeles for Thursday Night Football.
VikingsTerritory looks at five unsung heroes of the Vikings’ 2025 season so far.
The fanbase was downbeat after Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and while I might not be able to convince anyone, not least myself, that the prospect of more Carson Wentz is something to look forward to.
The Vikings Indeed Have Some Unsung Heroes
At some point, we should see if JJ McCarthy can step up and develop into the team’s long-term answer at quarterback. In the meantime, several Vikings players have had a good season. Here are my five Vikings unsung heroes of the 2025 season so far.
Eric Wilson
Eric Wilson came back to the team that drafted him after being away for four seasons to give the Vikings stronger depth at inside linebacker. A hamstring injury to Blake Cashman saw Wilson thrust into a starting role as soon as Week 2. Wilson impressed Brian Flores enough that he kept a starting role even with Cashman’s return from injury. Instead, it was Ivan Pace who rode the bench and didn’t play a defensive snap against the Eagles.
Wilson made the most of his chance, logging 6 tackles in Week 7, with 1.5 sacks, a tackle for loss, and a QB hit. Impressing when asked to rush the passer was significant for Wilson, given that it is the area in which Pace is known to be stronger. The Eagles’ physical style of play likely contributed to Wilson taking all of the snaps. I would expect Pace to see some playing time going forward, but Wilson has certainly secured that starting role and deserves it.
Will Fries
Minnesota spent a lot of money to bring in free agent guard Will Fries, but he hasn’t lived up to the five-year contract worth over $17 million a year. Fries is the only offensive lineman to play in all six of the Vikings’ games this season – that alone stands him apart from some of his teammates.
Coming into this season on the back of a right tibia fracture that cut his 2024 season short, and he was still recovering from when he arrived in Minnesota. It shouldn’t be a huge surprise that Fries hasn’t been immediately on top form.
He has had to come in and learn a new offensive scheme while trying to get in shape. There were some penalties early on, but he has played a clean game in the last two outings. Fries has done a solid job in pass protection but has struggled in the run game.
That’s as much a team problem as it is one for Fries. This Vikings team doesn’t establish the run, and that’s one of the big criticisms being levelled at head coach Kevin O’Connell at the moment. It’s a problem the coach needs to solve.
Will Reichard
Will Reichard has been on fire to start the season. The Vikings placekicker’s 2025 record should be without blemish; however, the records will show a 51-yard missed field goal against the Browns in London in Week 5. Even though the NFL publicly admitted that the ball hit the camera wire hanging from the roof of the stadium, causing it to veer off course. NFL rules state that a re-kick should have been awarded, but that never happened.
Still, the man nicknamed Will the Thrill has otherwise been flawless. He has converted all 13 of the other field goals he has attempted, with four from over 50 yards, including a career-long 62-yarder against the Bengals in Week 3.
Reichard has also converted all 12 of the extra points he has attempted this season. Some people question the merit of drafting a kicker, but the sixth-rounder the Vikings spent on the 24-year-old kicker looks to have netted them a reliable kicker that should be around for a long time.
Ryan Wright
Ryan Wright burst onto the scene with an excellent rookie season back in 2022. There were inconsistencies for Minnesota’s punter over the next two seasons, but this year, he is putting together a good season. He has booted a career-long 77-yard punt and not had any touchbacks, showcasing he has the distance and accuracy you want.
With seven punts inside the opposition’s 20-yard line through six games, Wright is doing a good job of flipping field position for the Vikings. Wright’s net punt length of 45.1 yards ranks sixth across the league.
Jalen Nailor
Initial thoughts were that Jalen Nailor was going to drop down the pecking order when Minnesota made the trade to bring Adam Thielen home.
Not so.
Nailor has seen considerably more time on the field than Thielen. Also performing better with his chances, seeing more targets and making more catches, and turning that into 13 catches on 162 and a touchdown. Ten of Nailor’s catches have been for a first down. A penalty flag denied him his second TD of the season in Sunday’s game against the Eagles. The Vikings coaching staff is always full of praise for Nailor, and his speed makes him a dangerous deep ball threat.
If the Minnesota offense were more in sync with better QB play, they could get more out of Nailor.
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