Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The best defensive linemen are the ones who play on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Think back to some of the elite players of recent years such as Aaron Donald, Myles Garrett, and J.J. Watt (among others). How often did those guys get behind the blockers?
Vikings d-lineman Jalen Redmond isn’t at that level (or, for that matter, likely to get to that level). Still, he’s a good player who is getting better. Jeff Diamond used to be the Vikings’ GM. He now offers his work for Vikings Territory , writing a weekly column for us. Check out what he had to say of the ascending talent: “In watching pass rush drills on Wednesday, Darrisaw did a good job on Dallas Turner and Donovan Jackson had a solid rep against Jalen Redmond who has been in the backfield often in camp practices” (emphasis added).
Vikings D-Lineman Jalen Redmond Ready to Explode
In 2024, Mr. Redmond was a promising player who represented a good story. His 18 tackles alongside the single sack and 6 tackles for loss were representative of promise. The 2023 undrafted talent always boasted nice athleticism but didn’t stick around in the NFL after Carolina scooped him up. A major part of his problem was health, or lack thereof.
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Still, the lineman ran a blistering 4.81 forty, a terrific time for somebody at his position. The Panthers moved on but nobody in the NFL gave him a deal to stick around.
What followed was a trip to the spring football league before getting a shot with the Vikings. All along, his chance of making the final roster was small, but he overcame the odds in that ’24 season.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) is brought down by Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Jalen Redmond (61) during first-half action at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Redmond applied pressure and finished the play with a tackle during the contest played on Dec 14, 2025, as the Vikings defense worked to contain Dallas. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images. Part of what’s missing within that all-too-tidy retelling is that Redmond got shuffled around in that 2024 season.
On October 11th, 2024, Jalen Redmond was waived by the Minnesota Vikings. The NFL’s 31 teams had a shot to snag the defender for free. No team decided to do so, allowing the Vikings to put him on the practice squad on October 14th. He then got elevated to the active roster again on October 19th. The back-and-forth between the practice squad and roster continued for October, meaning he was vulnerable to getting poached the whole time. Minnesota tossed him back onto the roster on November 6th of 2024.
Looking back, it’s wild that no NFL team saw how good he would become. Goodness, it’s wild that the Vikings took the risk to expose him to getting stolen away. Since then, Redmond has proven to be indispensable for where the Minnesota Vikings are going. He’s one of the few young talents to be on the cusp of breaking through into the range of “very good” or possibly even “elite.”
Jalen Redmond’s first career sack! Brian Asamoah does a good job of getting upfield on the Zero blitz and forcing Mills to step up in the pocket. The LG abandoned his block on Redmond to go block Ward, but he had no inside help, which freed up Redmond for the sack. pic.twitter.com/aUBOiFIsVA
— Matt Fries (@FriesFootball) October 5, 2024
Last year, Redmond had 62 tackles; 12 of his tackles were for a loss (in the backfield, as Diamond’s recent observation notes).
The Vikings d-lineman also had 6 sacks, 8 quarterback hits, 5 passes defended, 2 fumble recoveries, and 1 forced fumble. Dec 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Minnesota Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. (7), cornerback Isaiah Rodgers (2) and defensive tackle Jalen Redmond (61) tackle Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy (19) during the first half at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images – Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
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Quite possibly, Jalen Redmond will see a boost in production in 2026. Some of that is likely to be due to his own improvement and yet there’s a broader contextual argument.
Is the front seven talent around Redmond better? Adding Caleb Banks and Domonique Orange means welcoming a youth movement in the trenches.
Some of the other key actors in play are Levi Drake Rodriguez, Ty Ingram-Dawkins, and Elijah Williams, none of whom are yet at their third pro seasons. Can youthful speed stress the other team’s o-line sufficiently to create more room for Redmond to do damage?
Jalen Redmond is a 6’3″ and 305-pound lineman who is 27. Per Over the Cap , Redmond is demanding just $1,075,000 on the cap. Continuing to get into the backfield will mean seeing his compensation explode in the offseason of 2027. Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com.
Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.
