5 Vikings Success Stories thru the First 5 Games
The season’s first five games have seen some ups and downs as the team heads to the bye week with a winning record. We take a look at the success stories of the season so far for the Vikings.
VikingsTerritory looks at five Vikings success stories through the first five games of the 2025 season.
By success story, I’m talking about either new players or new roles for players who have been successful in the first five games. So, Justin Jefferson’s continued greatness is not included.
The Vikings haveย leaned heavily on their defenseย so far this season, and this list reflects that, with three defensive players making the cut. There is one player each from the offense and special teams.
Vikings Success Stories after 5 Weeks
Isaiah Rodgers
Isaiah Rodgers currently ranks second across the league inย Pro Football Focus’s cornerback ranking with an overall grade of 85.9. He had a huge game against the Cincinnati Bengals that included both an interception and a forced fumble and recovery returned for a touchdown.
His performance that day earned him Defensive Player of the Week recognition and PFF’s first-ever 99.9 grading. He hasn’t reached those incredible heights in the other four games, but he was solid and sticky in coverage.
He has shown his ability to make plays, punch the ball out, and his incredible speed. We await his next huge game-changing play. His signing wasn’t big news, despite arriving after just winning the Super Bowl with the Eagles. In fact, there was talk about needing another CB right up until the start of the season. Rodgers has silenced that chat and proved that stepping up from a slot corner and backup role to a starting outside cornerback wasn’t too much of a jump for him.
Theo Jackson’s Increased Role
Another player who stepped into an increased role this season is Theo Jackson. The departure of Camryn Bynum meant more snaps were likely to come his way, and that became even more evident with veteran safety Harrison Smith not healthy to begin the season.
Jackson has played more than double the number of snaps he played in his first three seasons already in 2025. He has done a solid job for Minnesota, earning a 67.4 overall grade from PFF. However, with Smith working his way back to full fitness, it remains to be seen how that will affect Jackson’s playing time.
Jordan Mason as the RB1
The Vikings traded for Jordan Mason to form a one-two punch with Aaron Jones; however, a hamstring injury in the Week 3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons has sidelined Jones. Mason has taken on the role of the lead back, with support from undrafted rookie Zavier Scott.
In his first start, Mason was pivotal in the Vikings’ offensive output against the Bengals, rushing for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns at a huge 7.3 yards per carry. He didn’t manage to be as explosive against two very stout defenses in the Steelers and Browns, while running behind a beaten-up offensive line, but Mason still went over 50 yards in each game at just shy of four yards per carry.
Minnesota will look forward to welcoming Jones back, but Mason has shown his role shouldn’t shrink when that happens.
Myles Price as the Kickoff/Punt Returner
Penalty flags have plagued the Vikings’ special teams unit this season and denied Myles Price some of his best return efforts. However, it’s been clear that Price has the ability and toughness to be the return man in Minnesota for a while.
Fearless and welcoming of contact when he catches the ball and on the run, Price gets the most out of every opportunity he gets to possess the ball. His one mistake came in the form of a muffed punt late in the game against the Falcons on a night where it seemed that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Minnesota kept faith with him, and he has been solid since.
Price has the second most combined punt and kick return yards (553) so far this season. Now we wait for him to pull off a really big game-changing return; he has that ability.
Jalen Redmond
On the eve of the season, Minnesota opted to trade its starting nose tackle – Harrison Phillips – to the New York Jets. One of the primary reasons for the decision was a belief in Jalen Redmond to step up in his second season as a Viking.
Redmond hasn’t disappointed with 14 tackles, including 4 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 QB hits, 9 pressures, 1 pass deflection, and 1 forced fumble through the opening five games. Redmond has been given a starting role and is putting up very good numbers.
With a very respectable overall grade from PFF of 74.5, the 26-year-old is playing way above his one-year, sub-$1 million contract. If he continues at this rate, a big payday will be on the horizon, and it absolutely should be in Minnesota.
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