The Top 5 Vikings on Defense Entering 2025
The Minnesota Vikings have assembled a strong roster for the 2025 season under the guidance of general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
When selecting my top players from the roster, I have decided to divide them into two groups: one for the offense and one for the defense. We start with my top five players on defense for the 2025 Vikings.
The Top 5 Vikings on Defense Entering 2025
Several good players don’t make the top five, including veteran Harrison Smith and fellow safety Josh Metellus. New signings Javon Hargrave and Isaiah Rodgers don’t make the cut, while young players like Dallas Turner, Ivan Pace, and Mekhi Blackmon have the potential to make it in the future — not this time around. Now let’s get to the top five.
5. Jonathan Allen
Minnesota desperately needed to add some pass-rush to the interior of its defensive line. In addition to the signing of Hargrave, the Vikings signed Jonathan Allen to a three-year, $60 million contract. Allen had spent all eight seasons of his career with the Washington Commanders, which included back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2021 and 2022.
Last season, he partially tore his left pectoral muscle in Week 6 and was anticipated to miss the remainder of the season. Allen managed to get back to fitness for the Commanders’ final two regular season games as well as their three playoff games.
With three sacks from eight (seven starts) regular season games, Allen had more sacks than any Vikings interior defensive linemen despite missing half of the season. Allen is now 30 but should have a few good years left in him and will make a huge difference to Minnesota’s pass-rushing ability.
4. Byron Murphy Jr.
No player made a bigger leap forward in their game on the Vikings roster in 2024 than Byron Murphy. His Pro Bowl season earned him a big payday as he hit free agency, but Minnesota sought to make sure they kept their guy. Murphy cashed in with a three–year, $54 million contract extension after leading cornerbacks in interceptions last season with six.
The Vikings now need him to repeat last year with another big season to make that $54 million well spent. Murphy is now very much the veteran of a young CB room and will have even more responsibility on his shoulders this year.
3. Blake Cashman
Underrated according to Pro Football Focus, but not by me. Blake Cashman is the heartbeat of the Vikings’ defense and the first of three 2024 free-agent signings that top this list. Cashman came home after a breakthrough season in 2023 with the Houston Texans to play for his home-state club and was an undoubted success.
Rather than flashing in one area, Cashman’s game is all about consistency across the board. Equally adept whether he’s tasked with rushing the passer, stopping the run, or dropping into coverage. Cashman also immediately took up the green dot duties, making him the chief communicator on the Vikings’ defense. The only blemish on his first season in Minnesota was a three-game stretch missed due to turf toe.
2. Andrew Van Ginkel
Andrew Van Ginkel was a player I had circled for the Vikings in last year’s free agency. A player in an area of need who had a history with Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. I thought he’d be a good fit in Minnesota, but I wasn’t expecting a second-team All-Pro season. Announcing himself to Vikings fans with a pick-six on debut – and repeating the fear in Week 5 – the midwesterner with an uncanny resemblance to the Vikings logo garnered almost immediate cult hero status.
Having signed a two-year contract in 2024, the Vikings quickly moved to give him a one-year extension worth $23 million thanks to his stunning first season in purple. Van Ginkel led the Vikings with 11.5 sacks, while also notching up 79 tackles, including 18 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 6 pass deflections. He was a disruptive force wherever he was on the field, and while his skillset might not put him on a par with the league’s best edge defenders in the traditional sense.
A defensive mastermind like coach Flores is the perfect guy to get the best out of Van Ginkel’s abilities.
1. Jonathan Greenard
The highest-graded player via PFF on the Vikings’ defense last season was Jonathan Greenard with an overall grade of 81.0. You can make your own mind up about how much weight you give PFF grades, but I’d say they got this one right. Greenard was the big-money signing of 2024 with the added pressure of filling Danielle Hunter’s enormous shoes. He didn’t disappoint with a 12-sack season. He also tallied 59 tackles, including 18 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 pass deflections.
Greenard is the Vikings’ premier pass rusher and was treated as such by the opposition. His 80 pressures were the third-highest mark across the league. With three years left on his $76 million contract, Greenard will be terrorizing opposing quarterbacks in Minnesota for a while yet.
Vikings Qualify for an Intrusive Thought
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