Vikings Players Who Could Earn First Pro Bowl in 2025
The Minnesota Vikings have high hopes in 2025, despite a forecast from oddsmakers that the club will win just eight or nine games.
Hopefully inevitably, one or two Vikings players will reach their first Pro Bowl in 2025. These are the candidates.
Minnesota finished last season with an unforeseen 14-3 record and will embark on 2025 with a new quarterback, J.J. McCarthy.
Along the way, the team could uplift a first-time Pro Bowler or two, and these are the candidates for that criterion, listed in order of realism (No. 1 = most likely first-time Pro Bowler).
8. Jordan Mason (RB)
Admittedly, Mason reaching a Pro Bowl is a long shot, mainly because Aaron Jones, the Vikings’ RB1, would probably have to succumb to an injury this summer or early in the regular season.
Still, Mason proved in 2024 that he could handle an RB1 workload when Christian McCaffrey missed time. The man might just need touches. If he somehow received 275-300 in purple, he could reach the Pro Bowl.
7. Dallas Turner (OLB)
Turner is scheduled to inherit an increased snap count in 2025, his second season in the pros, after Patrick Jones II and Jihard Ward left Minnesota this offseason.
If he effectuates his 1st-Round draft stock from 13 months ago, a Pro Bowl isn’t out of the question for the young EDGE defender.
6. Ivan Pace Jr. (LB)
Pace Jr. is the diet version of Micah Parsons, a pass-rushing off-ball linebacker with vicious tenacity in the middle of the field. He missed six games to injury last year, but if he stays upright in 2025 and produces over 100 total tackles and at least 5 sacks — reasonable projections — he could get the nod.
Quietly, Pace Jr. will be in line for a contract extension before too long.
5. J.J. McCarthy (QB)
A utopian scenario, if the Vikings’ new quarterback passes for close to 4,000 passing yards and somewhere in the ballpark of 30 touchdowns — Sam Darnold did it last year; why not McCarthy? — he’ll nab some Pro Bowl votes.
The NFC quarterback field is crowded with notable quarterbacks, so Minnesota will probably need a fancy team record for McCarthy to pull down this honor.
4. Blake Cashman (LB)
Cashman posted Pro Bowl numbers last year, but missed three games due to injury, evidently sinking his Pro Bowl dreams.
He posted a 71.6 grade from Pro Football Focus, an upgrade for the Vikings after veteran linebacker Jordan Hicks left in free agency for the Cleveland Browns in 2024.
PFF’s Jonathan Marci actually called Cashman the most underrated player on the Vikings’ roster entering 2025: “Cashman is a relative unknown in the league as a former fifth-round pick who, outside of his rookie season and prior to becoming a starter in 2023, had failed to crack 150 defensive snaps in three straight years.”
“However, Cashman broke out in a big way in 2023 with the Texans, earning a top-10 PFF overall grade for his position (82.1), which helped him land a three-year deal with Brian Flores in Minnesota. Cashman delivered another strong year in 2024, playing a career-high 947 defensive snaps, ranking 22nd in PFF overall grade (72.0) and faring well in run defense (76.3).”
3. Josh Metellus (S)
Metellus has flirted with Pro Bowl aspirations for a couple of seasons now. With his pal Camryn Bynum freshly departed for the Indianapolis Colts via free agency, Minnesota may rely on Metellus even more.
He does it all in Flores’ defense, earning the nickname from some of an “all-arounder.”
Soon, Pro Bowl voters might learn of Metellus’ versatility and recognize his skill set.
2. Jordan Addison (WR)
Addison could face a suspension for a July 2024 driving incident, but if his legal matters are resolved without missing games in 2025, he should be in line for Pro Bowl consideration.
The 23-year-old has banked 1,786 receiving yards and a whopping 19 touchdowns in 32 career games. Once he crosses the 1,000-yard barrier and maintains the touchdown production, he can climb WR power rankings around the sport.
He must avoid summer recklessness, however.
1. Christian Darrisaw (LT)
Fans aren’t too sure if Darrisaw will be ready for Week 1, but if he is, 2025 might be the season when he breaks through to Pro Bowl stardom.
Per performance, he’s already there, but with so many seasoned veteran tackles in the NFC, Darrisaw is often ignored in Pro Bowl voting.
Janik Eckardt recently wrote about Darrisaw and his summer ACL recovery: “Christian Darrisaw is one of the league’s elite blockers and arguably one of the top players on Minnesota’s roster. Last offseason, he signed a massive contract extension that runs through the 2029 season, and he deserved every penny of that.”
“However, he signed it a year earlier than many other 2021 first-rounders, prioritizing security over squeezing every last penny out of it. In hindsight, that was a smart move considering his severe knee injury suffered against the Rams last season.”
The moment Darrisaw can play 17 games in a season might be the turning point for his Pro Bowl aspirations.
Eckardt added, “Although they are unlikely to regret it, considering his level of play, the Vikings might have gotten another discount had they waited a year, and ultimately, he is a franchise cornerstone regardless of the injury. Darrisaw missed all but seven games last season, and the season opener will take place about 10.5 months after his injury.”
“Is that enough time for him to return to the field and get some practice reps in just in time to bookend the revamped offensive line in September? That is the big question. Other than Kevin O’Connell’s praise of the injured player’s work ethic, the Vikings usually don’t release any of those injury updates. Last offseason, T.J. Hockenson’s return date was a total mystery, too.”
Darrisaw earning a Pro Bowl invite should not be some big, bold take. He deserves it.
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