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Minnesota Vikings DST

Player Outlook
Minnesota finished as the number two defense in Fantasy last year with the fourth most sacks, the sixth most touchdowns, and five more interceptions than any other defense. A couple of those aren't the most predictive of defensive stats, so we expect some regression and rank them as a top seven defense going into 2025. DC Brian Flores is back in 2025, and the team added Jonathan Allen, Javon Hargrave, and Isaiah Rodgers to the defense. You can start considering drafting the Vikings in the next-to-last round of your draft.

Fantasy News

  • Saints' Jonathan Bullard: Signs with New Orleans

    Rotowire
    Bullard agreed to a deal with the Saints on Saturday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. The defensive end originally visited the team in June and previously played for Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley in Chicago, per Garafolo. With the Vikings last year, Bullard started all 17 regular-season games for the first time in his career, recording 41 tackles (21 solo), including 1.0 sacks, and three pass breakups. The veteran should have a chance to compete for a role in New Orleans as well.
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  • Stephon Gilmore: Wants to play this season

    Rotowire
    Gilmore, who remains unsigned, hopes to play in 2025, Bobby Kownack of NFL.com reports. "I want to play this year, it's just got to be the right situation," the veteran cornerback recently noted on The Money Down podcast. The 34-year-old finished the 2024 regular season with 56 tackles and one interception in 15 games for the Vikings. For now, however, the five-time Pro Bowler appears inclined to wait until he finds the right fit for what would be his 14th NFL campaign, and it's plausible that once injuries hit during training camp later this month, Gilmore's options in that regard could increase.
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  • Seahawks' Shaquill Griffin: Reuniting with Seattle

    Rotowire
    Griffin agreed to terms Wednesday on a one-year, $3 million contract with the Seahawks, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports. Griffin, who suited up for all 17 regular-season games with Minnesota in 2024, now joins forces with Seattle on a one-year deal reportedly worth up to $4 million. The 29-year-old brings reliability and experience to the Seahawks' cornerback corps, and he'll likely spend training camp competing with Josh Jobe for the No. 3 gig behind starters Riq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon.
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  • Vikings' Andrew Van Ginkel: Inks one-year extension

    Rotowire
    Van Ginkel agreed to terms Tuesday on a one-year, $23 million contract extension with the Vikings, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Van Ginkel gets paid following a tremendous debut year with Minnesota in which he tallied 79 tackles (50 solo), including a career-high 11.5 sacks across 17 regular-season games. The 29-year-old also had six pass breakups, including two interceptions (both pick-sixes), and one forced fumble. Van Ginkel has proven big-play ability in the Vikings' defensive scheme, and he figures to remain a high-impact fantasy option in IDP formats during the 2025 campaign.
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  • Vikings' Kobe King: Headed to Twin Cities

    Rotowire
    The Vikings selected King in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 201st overall. King served as a starter for his final two seasons at Penn State and played a ton in 2024, racking up 97 tackles, 8.5 TFLs and 3.0 sacks over 16 games, landing him on the Second Team All-Big Ten. He's not the most athletic linebacker on the board, but he plays downhill and isn't afraid of contact, evidenced by his tackle totals in his final year in Happy Valley. He's a better run defender than in coverage and will serve as a depth linebacker, and he'll likely be expected to contribute on special teams.
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  • Vikings' Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins: Heading to Minnesota

    Rotowire
    The Vikings selected Ingram-Dawkins in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, 139th overall. Ingram-Dawkins played for Georgia during his four-year college career, though his 2024 campaign was his only year as a starter. He finished that campaign with 19 tackles (15 solo), including 3.0 sacks, two pass defenses and one forced fumble in 14 games (10 starts). Ingram-Dawkins demonstrated his quick first-step at the 2025 NFL Combine with a 4.34-second shuttle time, which was the quickest among defensive tackles and third-quickest for all defensive linemen. His ability to play at tackle and on the edge should allow him to be deployed in multiple schemes under Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.
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  • NaJee Thompson: Cut with injury designation

    Rotowire
    The Vikings waived Thompson (knee) with a failed physical designation Wednesday. Thompson spent all of last season on IR due to a knee injury that dates back to January of 2024, and which it appears he's not yet fully recovered from. He appeared in 15 regular-season games as a rookie in 2023, handling 195 snaps on special teams and just one snap on defense.
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  • Vikings' Mekhi Blackmon: Nearing return to full strength

    Rotowire
    Coach Kevin O'Connell said Monday that Blackmon is finishing up his ACL rehab and is expected to return to football activities by the end of the spring, Ben Goessling of The Minnesota Star Tribune reports. Blackmon tore his ACL during the first practice of Minnesota's training camp in 2024, ending his second pro season before it even started. Now, it looks like he has a good chance to enter this year's training camp with a clean slate. With Stephon Gilmore and Shaquill Griffin looking unlikely to play for the Vikings again in 2025, Blackmon may currently be one of the team's most encouraging assets at cornerback besides Byron Murphy.
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  • Bears' Nahshon Wright: Lands in Windy City

    Rotowire
    The Bears signed Wright to a one-year contract Tuesday, Adam Hoge of AllCHGO.com reports. Wright appeared in one game for Minnesota last season, in which he played 15 snaps on special teams and saw no work on defense. The 2021 third-round pick likewise contributed more on special teams than defense during his three years with Dallas, priming him to now compete for a similar role in Chicago.
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  • Nahshon Wright: Let go by Minnesota

    Rotowire
    The Vikings released Wright on Monday. Minnesota traded for Wright last August in a deal with Dallas for Andrew Booth. Wright ended up playing in just one game for the Vikings, logging 15 snaps on special teams and none on defense. He played more on special teams than on defense during his three years with the Cowboys as well and would likely be asked to accept a similar role if he lands with another organization.
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  • Vikings' Harrison Smith: Staying with Vikings

    Rotowire
    Smith will stay with the Vikings after re-working his contract, Alec Lewis of The Athletic reports. Smith's new deal is worth about $11 million and will tie him to Minnesota -- where he has spent the entirety of his 13-year career -- for the 2025 campaign. He should continue to serve as one of the team's starting safeties after having tallied 87 tackles (56 solo), with 1.0 sacks, and an interceptions a season ago.
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  • Vikings' Javon Hargrave: Moving to Minnesota

    Rotowire
    Hargrave agreed to a two-year, $30 million deal with the Vikings on Wednesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. The 32-year-old defensive tackle has found a new home in Minnesota after spending the last two seasons with the 49ers. Hargrave dealt with a triceps injury that sidelined him for the majority of San Francisco's 2024 campaign, limiting him to just three games. However, he played in 16 of 17 contests during the 2023 regular season, recording seven sacks among his 44 total tackles. Hargrave is expected to see plenty of playing time alongside Harrison Phillips and Jonathan Allen on the Vikings' new-look defensive line in 2025.
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  • Vikings' Byron Murphy: Returning to Minnesota

    Rotowire
    The Vikings re-signed Murphy to a three-year, $66 million contract Monday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. At $22 million per year, Murphy becomes the NFL's third-highest paid cornerback, behind Jalen Ramsey and Patrick Surtain. Murphy started all 17 regular-season games for the Vikings last season, finishing with career highs across the board, including 81 tackles (62 solo) and 14 pass breakups, including six interceptions. Murphy was also selected to his first Pro Bowl. He's found a home under Minnesota DC Brian Flores.
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  • Panthers' Patrick Jones: Heading to Carolina

    Rotowire
    Jones (knee) is in line to sign a two-year contract worth up to $20 million with the Panthers, Jordan Schultz of Fox Sports reports. Jones recorded a career-best stat line across the board in 15 regular-season games with the Vikings in 2024, with 39 tackles (19 solo), including 7.0 sacks, plus one forced fumble. He battled a knee injury down the stretch and missed the final two games of the year, but Jones figures to be healthy for the start of Carolina's offseason activities. The 2021 third-round pick looks primed to contribute as a rotational pass rusher with his new team.
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  • Colts' Camryn Bynum: Set to ink with Indy

    Rotowire
    The Colts are in line to sign Bynum to a four-year, $60 million contract, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Bynum started all 17 games for Minnesota in each of the last three seasons, wrapping 2024 with 96 tackles (54 solo), 10 pass breakups, including three interceptions, plus two fumble recoveries. He's primed to handle a similar starting role with Indianapolis, joining Nick Cross to form what looks like a formidable tandem at safety.
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  • Vikings' Theo Jackson: Extends contract

    Rotowire
    Jackson agreed to a two-year, $12.6 million extension Thursday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. A sixth-round pick by the Titans back in 2022, Jackson has flourished in Minnesota of late. Primarily a special teams player the past two seasons, the 26-year-old recorded 17 total tackles and one interception with Minnesota in 2024 and could see more playing time with both starting safeties, Harrison Smith and Camryn Bynum, unrestricted free agents this offseason.
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  • Vikings' Byron Murphy: Restructures contract

    Rotowire
    Murphy and the Vikings agreed Tuesday to restructure his contract, pushing the void date of it back to the day before the start of the new league year, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports. The Vikings will no longer be able to use the franchise tag on Murphy this offseason, as his current contract will not end until the day before the start of the new league year, which is after the deadline for use of the tag. The 27-year-old is coming off the best season of his career, earning his first Pro Bowl nod and posting career highs in tackles, passes defended, and interceptions. Considering his success in 2024, he was considered a prime candidate to receive the franchise tag, but the Vikings will now need to re-sign Murphy to ensure he remains in Minnesota.
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  • Vikings' Jihad Ward: Logs one sack in 2024

    Rotowire
    Ward logged 10 tackles (five solo), including 1.0 sacks, one pass defense and one fumble recovery across 17 regular-season games in 2024. Ward signed a one-year, $1.79 million contract with the Vikings in March of 2024 after spending the previous two seasons with the Giants. The 2016 second-round pick out of Illinois played a mostly rotational role at defensive end, and his 10 combined tackles were his lowest output since the 2019 campaign (seven tackles across 14 regular-season games). Ward enters the offseason as an unrestricted free agent and will look to catch on with a team in need of a veteran defensive end.
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  • Vikings' Kamu Grugier-Hill: Makes 17 appearances for Vikings

    Rotowire
    Grugier-Hill made 18 tackles (11 solo), three passes defensed and two interceptions across 17 regular-season appearances with Minnesota in 2024. Grugier-Hill contributed as a reserve linebacker throughout the entire 2024 campaign with the Vikings, though in the team's final four games (including a wild-card round playoff loss to the Rams), he was limited to work on special teams. The 30-year-old veteran will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
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  • Vikings' Jalen Redmond: Contributes across 13 games

    Rotowire
    Redmond made 18 tackles (10 solo), including 1.0 sacks, across 13 regular-season appearances with the Vikings in 2024. He also had two passes defensed. Redmond, who missed his rookie season due to injury back in 2023, made his first career NFL appearances with Minnesota in 2024. As a pending exclusive-rights free agent, Redmond won't be able to negotiate with other clubs if the Vikings offer him a one-year contract at the league minimum salary.
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