New Viking Breaks Out after 8 Weeks
The Gravedigger waited until Halloween to cook — that’s the story in 2025 for Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Javon Hargrave.
It took damn near half the season, but one Minnesota Vikings defender busted onto the scene Sunday in a win over the Detroit Lions at Ford Field.
Minnesota toppled the Detroit Lions by three points on Sunday, and for the first time in 2025, Hargrave stood off the page as one of the game’s top performers.
Vikings DT Javon Hargrave Terrorizes Detroit
Brian Flores’ defense needed every ounce of Hargrave’s production.
All the Stats for Javon Hargrave
Hargrave skewered Jared Goff and the Lions; there’s no other way around it.
In a contest that felt like sheer desperation for Minnesota if the club wanted to remain in the playoff chase, Hargrave delivered with 8 total tackles, 2 quarterback hits, 2 tackles for loss, and a sack. He also banked an 81.4 mark from Pro Football Focus, by leaps and bounds his best performance with the Vikings.
Whether it sticks is debatable, but Hargrave has arrived.
About Damn Time
Hargave charged the Vikings $30 million over two seasons, a splashy free-agent addition for a team that rarely spent much at the defensive tackle spot until the most recent offseason.
For the first several games, Hargrave orchestrated some damage by pressuring opposing quarterbacks, but his run defense faltered, and at times, he felt like a liability on obvious rushing downs. In fact, in the Week 8 loss at the Los Angeles Chargers, Hargrave’s snap count dwindled to a point where upstart DT Jalen Redmond had surpassed him.
Now, however, the world appears to be back on its axis with Hargrave cooking at Detroit.
Sustainability Becomes Next Question
The question arises: was this a one-hit wonder? Often, players show up for a single sweet game and then regress to their usual tricks and tendencies. Veteran players get more grace with this practice, but fans will wait eagerly for six days to determine if Hargrave has finally shown up — or if he produced a one-game outlier, turning back the clock three seasons or so when the man previously visited the Pro Bowl.
Too, it may have taken Hargrave some time to adjust to Brian Flores’ scheme. For better or worse, that’s a thing.
Hargrave’s Sidekick Got in on the Fun
Speaking of Redmond, the unsung interior defensive lineman got in on the fun in Detroit, as well. Redmond tallied 3 total tackles, a sack, and a tackle for loss — which is pretty much his modus operandi these days.
In 2024, Redmond began to break out into stardom, but no one was too sure if it was sustainable because he was viewed as a “UFL guy.” The Vikings kept him attached to the depth chart during the offseason, handing him even more playing time in 2025.
Now, Redmond might be the single-best player in Flores’ defense, with no exaggeration. His consistency continues to aid the purple team on Sundays, and when Redmond doesn’t log a splashy play in a game, it feels weird. He’s that damn steady.
For at least a game and possibly more, Minnesota has the best of both worlds in a productive Hargrave and Redmond.
A Trade Asset as Recently as a Few Days ago
Before Minnesota beat Detroit, the franchise felt it might be on the verge of trading players before this Tuesday’s deadline. That changed in Week 9, but it didn’t stop Hargrave’s name from popping up in trade articles.
SI.com‘s Will Ragatz wrote last weekend, “From a football standpoint, a real case can be made for the Vikings trading Hargrave despite signing him to a two-year, $30 million deal less than eight months ago. He’s had an underwhelming first half, with solid pass-rush production (albeit with no sacks since the season opener) and below-average run defense.”
“As a result, his role has been reduced quite a bit. Over the past three games, Hargrave has played just 73 of 192 defensive snaps (38 percent). That’s well below Jonathan Allen and breakout star Jalen Redmond (140 snaps each), as well as Levi Drake Rodriguez (101).”
With a newly minted 4-4 record and Hargrave on the right track, he’s virtually guaranteed to stay put.
“The issue probably comes down to the feasibility of trading Hargrave’s contract. But if there’s a team out there with interest in making a deal work, this idea probably makes even more sense than the Hockenson one. The Vikings aren’t using Hargrave much as things stand, and they could give an expanded role to rookie Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins in this scenario,” Ragatz continued.
“Allen could also theoretically be a trade candidate, but he’s got an even trickier contract (which goes through 2027, not 2026) and is more important to the current state of the defense.”
Hargrave will set his sights on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in six days. Minnesota is an early (and rare) 3.5-point home underdog against the Ravens.
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