Jalen Redmond’s Vikings teammates are not surprised by his standout season

Vikings interior defensive lineman Jalen Redmond was split out closer to a defensive end’s alignment on third-and-14 midway through the fourth quarter Sunday at Detroit.

Outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel was lined up to his left. Linebackers Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson were poised over the middle, ready to blitz, with Javon Hargrave mirroring Redmond on the right side.

At the snap, Redmond exploded off the line, shed Lions rookie guard Tate Ratledge, stepped around Van Ginkel battling tackle Penei Sewell and wrapped Jared Goff up and flung him to the ground for a 9-yard loss.

That sack, his fourth of the year, gave Redmond the Vikings’ lead in sacks at the midpoint of the season. Lions kicker Jake Bates’ 45-yard field-goal attempt was blocked the next snap.

Redmond said Thursday that his wider alignment on the play was something the team recently installed, and that the play call was Van Ginkel’s idea.

The Vikings had been waiting to call it all game, and when the Lions’ formation finally looked right for them to try it, they cashed out.

Redmond, 26, smiled when asked how it feels to be the team leader coming off that sack, which was the last of five on Goff in the Vikings’ 27-24 win.

At least seven is the goal, he added, but “double digits would be great.”

The Vikings have 23 sacks on the season, with veterans of six-plus seasons — Wilson (3½), Hargrave (3), outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard (2) and Van Ginkel (2) — rounding out the team’s top five sack leaders.

Redmond was undrafted out of Oklahoma in 2023 and spent training camp with the Carolina Panthers before being cut. He signed with Minnesota in June 2024 after appearing in four games for the UFL’s Arlington (Texas) Renegades that spring and logging 4½ sacks in those games.

He appeared in 13 games last season for the Vikings, most even after he was waived and signed back to the practice squad.

By training camp this year, the Vikings felt strongly enough about him — and the depth of their defensive line room in general — to trade veteran Harrison Phillips to the New York Jets for sixth-round draft picks in 2026 and 2027 six days before 53-man roster cuts in late August.

Eight games into the season, Redmond has been the standout of the group.

“I definitely noticed during training, like, ‘Man, this guy can play,’” Allen said Wednesday. “And every week, he just continues to impress. Come time the season started, I knew what kind of player he was. Not very surprising he’s playing as well as he is considering how he looked during training camp consistently.”

Hargrave agreed that training camp was when he recognized the strength of Redmond’s talents, noting he would “win so many rushes or win so many rush techniques.”

Redmond not only leads the Vikings in sacks but is tied for third in quarterback hurries (5) and is fourth in tackles for loss (6).

Next Gen Stats has Redmond third on the team for total quarterback pressures with 18 behind Greenard (29) and Wilson (19), while Pro Football Focus has him second behind Greenard with 22.

“Whenever you have a guy who can rush the passer, and play the run, and be a complete player first, second down, third down, that’s a dangerous combination,” Allen said.

Redmond’s snap counts show how he’s valued. He is tied for eighth in snaps played (338) on the defense, second only to Allen along the defensive line. Redmond has played about the same run defense snaps (176) vs. pass rush snaps (161).

Redmond has the highest pass rush grade (73.4%) among Vikings who have played more than 20 defensive snaps this year and is 12th in run defense (61.9%).

Levi Drake Rodriguez, who recorded his first career sack against the Lions, is the only defensive lineman on this year’s active roster who played with Redmond last season.

Rodriguez called Redmond a “brother for life” and said he knew from the moment Redmond arrived that he could be a difference-maker.