The Hidden Vikings Who Could Make or Break the 2025 Team
The Minnesota Vikings won 14 games last year after sportsbooks claimed the team would win about seven or eight.
These hidden Vikings, who could make or break the 2025 squad, are stepping into critical roles, with depth players poised to determine the team’s fate.
This go-round, Vegas believes the Vikings will win around nine games, so it will have to beat the odds once again.
To do so, a few players must step up who aren’t necessarily stars. These are those players, listed alphabetically.
Unsung Players Who Could Carry the Vikings Further
Under-the-radar players that might have a significant impact on the Vikings this season.
1. Jordan Mason | RB
In March, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded Ed Ingram to the Houston Texans for a 6th-Round pick. Fans were happy to see the boss get something for Ingram, as he was potentially headed toward a roster cut later in the summer.
Then, Adofo-Mensah used that 6th-Rounder a few days later to acquire running back Jordan Mason via trade with the San Francisco 49ers. He essentially swapped Mason for Ingram.
Mason instantly slid onto the purple depth chart as an RB2, supporting Aaron Jones, a soon-to-be 31-year-old halfback. There’s a decent chance that Jones misses a game, maybe more, and if that happens, Mason will be ready for RB1 duty.
The Vikings must also improve their redzone rushing offense, including scoring more rushing touchdowns. Mason is perfect for the assignment.
2. Dwight McGlothern | CB
The Vikings have one really good cornerback (Byron Murphy Jr.), two prove-it corners (Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah), and a virtual unknown (Dwight McGlothern).
That’s it.
Brian Flores’ defense has just four cornerbacks on the active roster. Between Murphy Jr., Rodgers, and Okudah, one is likely to get hurt, at least for a while, and Minnesota will call upon McGlothern for relief duty.
Therefore, McGlothern’s game-readiness is incredibly vital for the enterprise. And the team must trust him — it’s had about four months to sign a free agent like Mike Hilton or Rasul Douglas. Never did.
The Viking Age‘s Tyler Miller wrote about McGlothern earlier this month: “But for those who haven’t read every single report and social media post about Minnesota’s training camp, it might come as a surprise that an undrafted second-year corner has been making play-after-play, showing up and showing out, and coming up with plenty of interceptions in the last few weeks.”
“As good as McGlothern’s been, it’s not a surprise that he is currently listed behind Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers, Jeff Okudah, and Mekhi Blackmon on the Vikings’ unofficial depth chart. Those four guys are considered the veteran corners of the team, and they should be listed ahead of the second-year undrafted defensive back.”
McGlothern is another Kwesi Adofo-Mensah UDFA special.
“For the rest of the summer, McGlothern is going to get every opportunity possible to earn reps in the upcoming regular season, even as a backup. He can definitely prove it in the preseason and should have a bunch of chances to do so,” Miller added.
3. Jalen Redmond | DT
The Vikings traded Harrison Phillips to the New York Jets a week and a half ago, offloading a team captain in a move that surprised fans.
Phillips to New York paved the way for Jalen Redmond to enter the starting lineup. Redmond played wonderfully in 2024 as a UFL standout who parlayed that showing into a spot on the Vikings’ 53-man roster. He logged a head-turning 77.2 Pro Football Focus grade on 208 defensive snaps, which is about 25% of all plays.
Now, the percentage will climb to north of 50% with Phillips gone. And with two new defensive tackles over the age of 30, Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, Redmond could see intense playing time if injuries arise.
He’s a bit of an ace in the hole for the 2025 purple team — very affordable and productive. If Redmond continues his 2024 performance, Minnesota’s interior defensive line will be one of the deepest in the NFL.
Outside linebacker Jonthan Greenard said about Redmond a couple of weeks ago, “Oh, J-Red is a dawg. J-Red [has been] a dawg since last year in camp. I knew he was a dawg when he got thrown out of practice last year in camp.”
“From that day forward, he got thrown out, he came back in, and was just completely dominating guys. And at that point, even to see it during the season and see him just continuously build … everyone knew he had another gear, but when you bring two guys like [Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen], you think he gets put on the wayside or anything like that, or he gets behind.”
Greenard doesn’t sling praise lightly.
“No, that brother is right there making the same plays he was last year, if not more. And that just helps us out to know there’s no drop-off whenever those guys need a breather, and we can always throw him in and rely on him. Jalen is a dawg. He is always going to get respect. If I’m the coach, I’m putting him in,” Greenard concluded.
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