Daily Norseman
Continuing the Minnesota Vikings roster evaluation and 53-man roster projection with the second half of the series focused on the defensive side and specialists, I break down each position group with some analysis and useful links and information as we move through July and wait for the beginning of training camp at the end of the month.
Part one of the series on offense can be found here.
The defensive interior line group will be filled with young players, which can be a good and bad thing. Having a young and ascending group could lead to stability and solid play for years to come, but it can also come with growing pains as a pair of rookies learn the scheme and acclimate to the league. Looking at the projected depth chart, the only proven quality starter is Jalen Redmond. The rest have either been average performers or are rookies that haven’t played in the league yet. That is true for the guys I have not making the roster as well. So, there is more uncertainty with this group heading into training camp and the regular season than normal. The Vikings really need their rookies to play well and hopefully get some incremental improvement from the others.
Overall, the first three spots are pretty much locked in, but the last three are less certain- assuming the Vikings keep six defensive tackles again this year (which I think is very likely). There is also a scenario where Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins becomes more of an edge rusher, in which case I’d include him in the edge rusher group instead of Tyler Batty and add one of the cut players here, most likely Jahvaree Ritzie.
Jalen Redmond ➡️
Redmond has been a big success story for the Vikings. He was initially signed by the Panthers as a UDFA in 2023 but didn’t make the roster and played in the XFL in 2024 before the Vikings signed him in June of that year. He played 236 snaps defensively his first season with the Vikings after making the roster and showed he belonged. He had the highest overall PFF defensive grade among defensive tackles, way outperforming the starters that year. A year later, in 2025, with a new set of more expensive veteran defensive tackles, Redmond was still the highest graded. He led the group in quarterback pressures, run stops, forced fumbles, and batted passes.
This season, after the Vikings let Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave go, Redmond is now the veteran leading the group at age 27. The question now for Redmond is whether he’s reached his ceiling and could be improve this year? Over his first two seasons his PFF grades have been fairly similar, so maybe there isn’t much more we should expect from Redmond this season. But perhaps after his first full season as a starter he could take another step higher. We’ll see. For now I’m counting on a similar performance as last season, which was pretty...
