4 Vikings Who Have Climbed the Depth Chart This Season
For better or worse, the Minnesota Vikings have just four games remaining in 2025, trudging to end a disappointing season on a high note. The club has a 5-8 record at the moment, and along the way, the team has enjoyed four players climbing the depth chart for different reasons.
Injuries, roster churn, and opportunistic play have shuffled Minnesota’s depth chart, and this breakdown spotlights the surprise contributors who’ve forced coaches to expand their roles.
The following players are listed alphabetically and have turned heads, at least to an extent.
The Vikings Players Who Have Climbed the Depth Chart in 2025
Through different circumstances, these players have emerged as of late.
1. Tai Felton | WR
This one happened by accident and is not a testament to Felton’s rookie performance — let’s clear the record and get that out of the way.
Felton received a de facto promotion last week when Minnesota waived Adam Thielen. Thielen, evidently frustrated by his teensy role, told the Vikings he wanted to leave town, and they said, “Sure.”
Thielen latched onto the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ roster and caught one pass for four yards in his first game alongside Aaron Rodgers. That roster waiver inched Felton up the depth chary by default, and Felton caught one ball last weekend from J.J. McCarthy. That’s noteworthy because Minnesota previously refused to put Felton into the offensive lineup outside of garbage time.
Our Kyle Joudry scribed encouraging words on Felton this week, “Folks, Tai Felton is going to be just fine. The rookie has been a quiet contributor to the offense. Put differently, he has hardly made a difference on offense. He has been sensational on specials, proving to be a menace as a gunner.”
“His speed and length make him a handful when trying to slow him down, often forcing other teams into the unenviable position of devoting a pair of blockers lest they get torched by the backup receiver. Across all thirteen games of 2025, Felton has 2 targets, opportunities that have gone for 2 catches and 19 scoreless yards.”
In theory, Felton’s role should only increase with Thielen off the team.
“Note, folks, that Felton’s 29 snaps for Kevin O’Connell have been dwarfed by Felton’s 230 snaps for Matt Daniels. He’s mostly a special teams helper from within a Vikings offense that can’t even scrounge up enough yards for Justin Jefferson,” Joudry continued.
“Going forward, Felton is going to become a WR3. He has speed aplenty and a nice build to play the position as someone with good length. Don’t be surprised if Jalen Nailor walks away in favor of bumping Felton up the depth chart in 2026.”
2. Fabiean Moreau | CB
The Vikings’ CB3 to start the season, Jeff Okudah, played terribly this year before sustaining two concussions. He hasn’t been seen since.
What would the Vikings do without their CB3? Surely, they’d use the CB3 on the depth chart, a guy named Dwight McGlothern, right? Nope.
Minnesota instead elevated Moreau from the practice squad to the active roster and demoted McGlothern. Moreau is now the CB3, beyond the shadow of a doubt. The longtime NFLer has a 60.1 passer-rating-against for his troubles, which is outstanding and fully bests Okudah.
3. Jalen Redmond | DT
Hardcore Vikings fans knew Redmond was a damn good defensive tackle based on his emergence last season. Redmond also looked the part this summer at training camp and in the preseason.
However, Minnesota constructed an offseason plan at defensive tackle by signing Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, two former Pro Bowlers who, on paper, were sturdier options than Redmond.
Fast forward to Week 1, and it became abundantly clear that Redmond remained the team’s best defensive tackle. He might even better the best player overall on defense and is playing like the third-best player behind Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw.
Allen and Hargrave did not box out Redmond for playing time, as some feared four months ago. It’s the opposite: Redmond has boxed out Hargrave.
4. Eric Wilson | LB
Wilson returned to the team that originally unearthed him in 2017, expected to be depth and little more. But when Blake Cashman tweaked a hamstring in Week 2, Wilson was thrown into the fire right away — and he stuck. He played well enough that Brian Flores kept him in the starting lineup even after Cashman healed up. The surprise consequence? Ivan Pace Jr. rode the bench against Philadelphia and didn’t log a single defensive snap.
Wilson has remained the starter over Pace Jr.
The 31-year-old, a bit of a revelation for the Vikings, had accrued 91 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 7 QB hits, 5.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles. He’s straight balling. Wilson also ranks tops in the NFL among all inside linebackers in quarterback pressures with 26.
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