The X-Factor Players for the 2025 Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings’ roster comprises 90 players at present, a number that will be reduced by 42% by the end of August.
The Minnesota Vikings always have “X-Factor” players, and these are the men from the 2025 roster.
Each season, the club has “X-Factor” players, and that term is described as “a unique and elusive quality that sets an unsung individual or entity apart from others, often creating a lasting impact.”
So, listed alphabetically, these are the Vikings’ x-factor players for 2025.
You can review last year’s bunch here.
Tai Felton
Wide Receiver
Felton should be afforded time and grace to develop into a wide receiver — that’s typically the arrangement for NFL rookies.
But Felton makes the cut as an x-factor for one central reason: his teammate Jordan Addison could be suspended to start the season. Addison has an unresolved California driving infraction still ongoing, and there’s a decent chance that ordeal will end in a three-game suspension.
The Vikings would turn to Justin Jefferson, Jalen Nailor, and … Tai Felton for wide receiving responsibilities without Addison, increasing Felton’s vitality. It will also be the world’s first impression of Felton. As the saying goes, those mean everything.
Theo Jackson
Safety
Camryn Bynum tested free agency in March, acing the exam because the Indianapolis Colts paid him $60 million over the next four seasons. In return, the Vikings drafted no safeties — the draft community expected them to — and signed no starting veteran replacement(s).
Those [lack of] maneuvers left Jackson with a presumed starter’s job, and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah even extended Jackson’s contract before the start of free agency.
It’s all up to Jackson to play at a level similar to Bynum, or at least not flagrantly below.
Jordan Mason
Running Back
The Vikings added Mason in March via trade, a surprising transaction because most Vikings fans thought the deep would draft a running back from a very deep class.
Instead, it’s Mason, who will back up Aaron Jones, a running back nearly the age of 31. The one knock on Jones in his illustrious NFL career is injuries, so combine that trait with Jones’ advanced NFL age, and Mason could find himself with RB1 responsibilities at times in 2025.
If he fills in like he did for the San Francisco 49ers last year — he was awesome — he’ll be an x-factor in the Vikings’ offense.
PurplePTSD’s Brevan Bane wrote about Mason this offseason, “Mason brings a legitimate rushing threat against stacked boxes. Per NFL Pro, Jordan Mason faced stacked boxes on 33.3% of his rushing attempts, the most frequent rate in the NFL in 2024, and .01% more than Derrick Henry at 33.2%.”
“As the Vikings’ most frequent rusher last season, Aaron Jones saw stacked boxes only 18.4% of the time – the 26th most frequent in the NFL in 2024. This is huge because Mason’s numbers would’ve been even more impressive if he wasn’t facing stacked boxes all the time, and he will see less in Minnesota, considering opposing defenses have all of the Vikings’ other threats to worry about downfield.”
Mason is also in the prime of his career at age 26.
Bane added, “One of the things Jones and Mason shared in common in 2024 on their respective teams was the frequency of their rushing attempts from under-center offensive formations. A whopping 82.7% of Jones’ rushing attempts came when the QB began the snap under-center, which led the league. Jordan Mason took rushes from under-center formations 73.9% of the time, 5th in the league.”
“Jones and Mason could be the thunder and lightning committee that the Vikings have been searching for at running back for the entirety of the Kevin O’Connell era. They’re very similar running backs in many different metrics, but Jordan Mason brings that little bit of “punch” that makes defenders think twice before engaging.”
Will Reichard
Kicker
Reichard began his NFL career perfectly for about seven games before injuring his quad. When he returned, he played like a run-of-the-mill kicker who wasn’t above mistakes.
Vikings fans have longstanding kicker skepticism, and Reichard, now fully healthy, will have a chance to win back their hearts.
If he stinks — somewhat unlikely — it’s back to the drawing board at Minnesota’s most maddening position.
Isaiah Rodgers
Cornerback
Minnesota is investing a boatload of faith in Rodgers, considering it could sign Jaire Alexander, Asante Samuel Jr., Mike Hilton, Jack Jones, or Rasul Douglas today to ensure the cornerback room is solid.
They haven’t done that.
Rodgers will play on an affordable contract in 2025, and if he’s as productive as defensive coordinator Brian Flores predicts, he will be the granddaddy-of-them-all Vikings x-factor in 2025. He is akin to a hinge in the Vikings’ secondary.
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