The Vikings’ Top 5 Players on Defense Entering 2026
Looking ahead to the new season, this is the time of year when I like to identify who I think are the Vikings’ best players as we head into the latest chapter of Minnesota football. I have already given my choices for the offense, and now it’s time for my top 5 Vikings defensive players as we head towards the 2026 season.
Five Vikings Defenders Still Anchor Minnesota’s Strength
There have been some big changes to the Vikings’ defense over the offseason, with two of the players I named in my Vikings top 5 on defense last year having departed. Last year’s number one, Jonathan Greenard, was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, while Jonathan Allen was released to save money.
It leaves this list looking a little weak in star power; however, under Brian Flores’s guidance, I’d fully expect the Vikings to be a strong defensive unit.
5. Josh Metellus | S
It was a close call for the fifth spot on this list, with Eric Wilson and Dallas Turner the two other main candidates. I decided to go with Josh Metellus. Although he didn’t have his best season in 2025, he has been an important part of Flores’ defense over the last three seasons.
Metellus’s best work is done when Flores uses him as a utility player who can play from a variety of positions and alignments. It looks like he will be playing without Harrison Smith at his side for the first time in his career. It will be interesting to see whether that keeps Metellus locked into a pure safety role and how he fares in it.
4. Byron Murphy Jr. | CB
On the back of a breakout 2024, which saw Byron Murphy Jr voted to the Pro Bowl after leading the league in interceptions among cornerbacks. Murphy didn’t have the same success in 2025, but he is still comfortably the Vikings’ best CB. Minnesota’s secondary continues to look weak on paper with the FA signing of James Pierre, a notable addition this offseason.
The Vikings will need Murphy at his best this season, but his smaller stature does cause him some issues when playing on the outside.
3. Jalen Redmond | DT
Minnesota’s big success story last year was the emergence of Jalen Redmond. He saw off two highly paid free agent signings to be the main guy on the interior of the Vikings’ defensive line. So much so that Allen and Javon Hargrave were deemed surplus to requirements with their big salaries.
Now, Redmond is the senior man and will have a couple of rookies with him in first-round pick Caleb Banks and third-round pick Domonique Orange.
Redmond’s journey has been an unusual one. Undrafted in 2023 and then failing to make it with the Carolina Panthers, Redmond spent a year playing in the UFL before finding a second chance with the Vikings.
In just two seasons, he has established himself as one of the most important players on the Vikings’ defense. Redmond earned an overall grade of 72.7 in 2025 from Pro Football Focus, with a pass-rush grade of 62.5 and a run-defense grade of 72.7, ranking 10th at the position.
2. Blake Cashman | ILB
The Minnesota native returned home in 2024, and the only thing that’s slowed Blake Cashman down has been some niggling injuries, causing him to miss seven games over two seasons. He is the leader of Flores’ defense at middle linebacker and the key communicator.
He has also been a tackling machine; in two seasons as a Viking, he has notched up 256 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 10 passes defended. Cashman will continue to be a vital cog in the Vikings’ defense in 2026.
1. Andrew Van Ginkel | OLB
Andrew Van Ginkel is not your normal outside linebacker/edge rusher.
That position is usually about big athletic guys on a mission to get to the quarterback. Van Ginkel can do that; he has 18.5 sacks in two seasons in Minnesota, which is more than the 17 he had in five years in Miami, but he is so much more than that. Flores’ defense is all about disguise, and Van Ginkel is the perfect player for that, with the ability to be effective rushing the passer or dropping back in coverage.
Van Ginkel’s ability to read a screen pass and get in position to intercept it has become legendary, resulting in two interception touchdowns and other near misses. Opposing teams try the screen pass to Van Ginkel’s side at their own peril. He will be 31 when the 2026 season starts, but still has some good years left in him with at least one in Minnesota before he hits free agency next year.
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