Vikings are getting big returns from their young D-line — without making a dent in the salary cap

Jalen Redmond and Levi Drake Rodriguez headline a young six-man unit that counts just $9.4 million against the salary cap and has emerged as an early strength for the 2-0 Vikings.

Jalen Redmond and Levi Drake Rodriguez headline a young six-man unit that counts just $9.4 million against the salary cap and has emerged as an early strength for the 2-0 Vikings.

Jalen Redmond was sitting alone in his undisturbed corner of the Vikings’ locker room on a particularly noisy day at TCO Performance Center.

The rising star has one of the two occupied stalls located behind a partition that separates them from the main area of the locker room. It’s a spot normally relegated for players at the bottom of the roster or on the practice squad, where Redmond was only three years ago.

A reporter approached and said, “Jalen, I think you’ve played your way into the big room.”

Redmond smiled. He shook his head.

“Nah,” he said. “Those guys are too loud over there. I like where I am.”

The Vikings, meanwhile, love where their young defensive line is in general and Redmond in particular.

The team is one of eight 2-0 squads after a pair of NFC North wins. Its defense ranks fourth in points allowed (12.5), eighth in third-down conversions (29.63%) and third in red-zone scoring (14.29%) and goal-to-go situations (25%).

Redmond’s forced fumble at the goal line helped beat the Bears. Levi Drake Rodriguez’s sack and Domonique Orange’s fourth-down stop helped beat the Packers. And, overall, defensive coordinator Brian Flores couldn’t be happier with how well the youngsters have accepted and understood the grunt work and gap responsibilities necessary in a defense that blitzes a league-high 71.6% of the time, according to Pro Football Reference. Detroit ranks second at 42.6%.

“That’s a great group, a fun group to coach,” Flores said. “They want to be coached. They’re young, they got great energy and they’re talented.”

And last, but certainly not least, they might be the most salary cap-friendly unit in the NFL.

• The entire six-man defensive line counts $9,444,970 against the $301.2 million salary cap, according to Overthecap.com. That’s about 3%. Rookie first-round draft pick Caleb Banks leads the way ($3,869,523) followed by Orange, a rookie third-round pick ($1,269,606); Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins ($1,124,344); Rodriguez ($1,101,497); Redmond ($1,075,000) and Elijah Williams ($1,005,000).

• Three defensive linemen the team got rid of the last two seasons — Jonathan Allen ($12,666,666), Javon Hargrave ($10,497,500) and Harrison Phillips ($3,526,389) — count $26,690,555 against this year’s cap in dead money. Allen is in Cincinnati, where he has two sacks and four tackles for loss, while Hargrave and Phillips are with the Packers and Jets, respectively.

• Redmond’s growth heading into the 2025 season is the reason the Vikings traded Phillips, a beloved team captain. Redmond then outplayed his older, big-name teammates Allen and Hargrave while notching 62 tackles, six sacks, 12 tackles for loss and five passes defensed a year ago. And yet Redmond’s cap number is $11.6 million lower than Allen’s, $9.4 million lower than Hargrave’s and $2.5 million lower than Phillips, whose last game as a Viking came 20 months ago.

Jon Gruden, the Super Bowl-winning former head coach and NFL analyst, took to X recently to post a video touting the incredible bang the Vikings are getting for the relatively few bucks they’re paying for their understated defensive line.

“The best player up front in the NFL that no one even knows exists is this Jalen Redmond guy,” Gruden says. “He wears No. 61. It’s the worst number I’ve ever seen on a D-lineman. I’m like, ‘Who the hell is this guy?’”

Gruden then recaps Redmond’s journey from being undrafted to playing in the UFL to the Vikings’ practice squad.

“Guess what he does? He keeps working, young players out there. He keeps grinding,” Gruden said.

“I saw that,” Redmond said. “It’s good recognition when Jon Gruden is talking about you. I laughed when he talked about my number.”

So, Jalen, what about that odd number?

“It’s the number the Vikings gave me when I came here from the UFL,” he said. “I had just lost my best friend from high school, Midwest City, Oklahoma. Juwan Walker. I wore No. 6. He wore No. 1. It was like a sign when I saw that jersey. So I’m not giving it up. I’m going to make 61 mine and rock out with it.”

Gruden also loves Rodriguez’s unlikely journey from 2024 seventh-round draft pick to starting nose tackle.

“He’s out of Texas [A&M]-Commerce. I’ve never even been there,” Gruden says. “This guy plays six snaps as a rookie. … He’s on the rise. He wears No. 50. He’s like blocking a freaking tank.”

“My mom sent me that clip,” Rodriguez said. “Jon Gruden is a freaking legend. Nice shout out to my school, which is now East Texas A&M. It’s out in the sticks, so not a lot of people know where it is.”

Rodriguez is one of at least four Vikings who played there. Quarterback Wade Wilson played there when it was East Texas State.

Flores also uses Rodriguez’s story as a shining example of how far a raw, undersized talent can go with the right attitude and work ethic.

“It didn’t happen overnight,” Flores said. “That’s the case for a lot of rookies. For some guys, like 1 percent, it happens overnight. The rest have to work, they have to develop, they have to put that time in. And he’s done that, and more.”

This unit’s bargain-basement affordability will no doubt change as the playmaking mounts and even more heads turn. It will start with Redmond, who is, at 27, the elder statesman of the group and unsigned for next year.

“Honestly, I don’t really think about the money right now because it’s going to come when it’s supposed to come,” Redmond said. “Coming out of the UFL, I’m just blessed to be here and get this opportunity. The big contract part, that will come if I keep doing what I’m doing.”

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