3 Unexpected Vikings Players Stealing the Spotlight
The first week of the 2025 regular season went somewhat great for the Minnesota Vikings. After that, the team played terribly at home against the Atlanta Falcons.
Three unexpected Vikings players are stealing the spotlight early in the season. Here’s who has emerged and how they’re making an impact in Minnesota.
And because the loss to Atlanta is still fresh in folks’ minds, few bright spots exist on the roster at the moment.
Through two weeks, though, three unexpected bright spots have emerged, and these unsung performers deserve their flowers.
Unsung Vikings Standing Off the Page thru 2 Weeks
All on defense, these players have turned heads.
1. Levi Drake Rodriguez | DT
Drake Rodriguez has played over 40 defensive snaps in two games, which is impressive by itself because no one was too sure how he’d factor into the defensive tackle plans with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave in the mix from free agency. The Vikings also employ DT Jalen Redmond, who had a miniature version of a breakout season last year.
But Drake Rodriguez has found playing time nevertheless, and he’s posted a 66.1 Pro Football Focus grade through two games, which is better than his former teammate Harrison Phillips usually scores from PFF.
He’s one of the biggest defensive linemen for the Vikings, and his 66.8 run-stopping grade is especially impressive. In short, fans were unsure how Drake Rodriguez would fit into the defense alongside Allen and Hargrave, but he’s had no problem establishing a role.
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said about Drake Rodriguez last month, “You know, there’s second-unit players in training camp who take a ton of reps in practice and then have to go play a game a day later. I’m excited to see him with fresh legs do his thing.”
“He has elite pass-rushing skills. And sometimes that can actually work against you when you get to your second move when you don’t need to, but [the game is starting to slow down for him], and that was a great example of that, that rush.”
2. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins | DT
Minnesota yanked Ingram-Dawkins from Round 5 of the 2025 NFL Draft, and players from that round or later are pretty damn hit and miss. That is — if a 5th, 6th, or 7th-Rounder doesn’t work out for your favorite team, nobody really cares. It’s life.
Early returns suggest that Ingram-Dawkins, however, can turn into the real deal. Through two games, the first of his career, the Georgia alumnus has recorded a 64.4 mark with PFF, a couple of tackles, and a batted pass, which he’s known for.
It’s quite impressive that the rookie is getting action on a Vikings defensive line that already includes Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, Jalen Redmond, and Levi Drake Rodriguez. Ingram-Dawkins has played about 35 snaps in two games — about a quarter of the time.
His career is off to a nice start, and along with Drake Rodriguez, it’s easy to see why the Vikings had no qualms with trading Harrison Phillips to the New York Jets last month. They had DT depth.
3. Jay Ward | S
Without Harrison Smith in the lineup out of the gate in 2025, Ward has totaled 41 defensive snaps, with a 76.0 PFF grade to show for it.
He’s basically putting up Smith numbers without Smith on the field. Ward is the 17th-best safety in all of football right now and appears to be turning the corner into a solid defender. The timeline checks out because it’s Ward’s third season as a pro.
Of course, his playing time will probably dwindle when Smith returns — that sounds like it will happen on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals — but Ward will still see the field at times and will be an option for life after Smith when the offseason hits and Smith presumably retires.
A to Z Sports‘ Tyler Forness noted on Ward heading into the regular season: “Going into year three, Ward is in an interesting spot on the roster. With the unexpected cornerback issues they had at the beginning of training camp last year, they tried out Ward in the slot, but it didn’t work out very well. He stayed on the roster and served as a depth and special teams ace.”
“The Vikings still believe in Ward, and only have five safeties on the roster, which essentially secures his roster spot unless he bombs during training camp.”
Ward might even be outplaying Theo Jackson, who was anointed the starter this summer after Camryn Bynum left in free agency.
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