The strength of the Minnesota Vikings is undoubtedly their defense, led by Brian Flores. A coordinator entering his fourth year in the Twin Cities, Flores has been a master at elevating his players, with tremendous success. Several previously unsung defenders starred under his guidance.
Leaguewide, there seems to be some skepticism, as none of his top guys appear on any top-10 lists. Not Andrew Van Ginkel, the ferocious edge defender, or Jalen Redmond, last year’s breakout player. Granted, the competition is brutal. Yet the linebackers couldn’t even crack the top 24 in the business, which seems harsh.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has started releasing his annual top 10 position rankings, in which he’s revealing poll results among coaches and executives. He, indeed, listed ten linebackers without Blake Cashman’s (or even Eric Wilson’s) presence.
That is defensible, of course, as neither is seen as an elite player. Though if one scrolls further, a list of honorable mentions appears. That makes four more linebackers who are better than Minnesota’s. But that’s not the final straw. There’s a list of “also receiving votes,” and once again, no Viking can be found among those ten mentions.
As they continue to fly under the radar, it’s worth evaluating their phenomenal 2025 campaigns.
Blake Cashman
Cashman is a former Golden Gopher, who was a 5th-round pick of the New York Jets in 2019. The linebacker struggled to stay on the field in first few years, primarily contributing on special teams when healthy. The Jets traded him to the Texans ahead of the 2022 season and his career took off from there. As a rotational player and special-teams ace, Cashman appeared in all 16 games in his first year in the AFC South and he was elevated to the starting lineup in a breakout 2023 season under the guidance of new coach Demeco Ryans.
When the Vikings signed the Eden Prairie native in free agency in 2024, they solidified the middle linebacker position following years of Eric Kendricks manning that spot. Cashman quickly established himself as Flores’ amplifier on the field and logged 112 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2024, despite missing three contests.
Last year, he once again missed some time, playing in 13 games. Yet, his numbers remain mind-blowing, regardless of games played. Cashman registered a whopping 144 tackles, as he continued to be the brain and the heart of the elite defense. He still ranked 9th in the NFL in combined tackles and had he played in all 17 while keeping his pace, he would’ve led the entire league in tackles. He added four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks to his resume in 2025.
The defender just turned 30 and injuries keep piling up, which might be why the Vikings haven’t handed him a contract extension as he is headed into the final year of his initial three-year deal. Minnesota’s defense has been way better with him than without him and it’s time the league takes notice.
Eric Wilson
Wilson arrived in Minnesota in 2017. Mike Zimmer snagged the Cincinnati product as an undrafted rookie and the undersized defender showed enough promise to make the 53-man roster in his first year in purple. A big contributor on special teams, Wilson entered the starting lineup in 2020 following a season-ending injury to Anthony Barr in Week 2.
He then bounced around and finally found a spot in Green Bay, where he once again earned backup duties and helped on special teams. After three years with the Packers, he returned 16 months ago as a backup behind Cashman and Ivan Pace. A couple of games into the season, he stole Pace’s starting job and has yet to return it.
His one-year deal was extened. Surprisingly, the Vikings even gave the 31-year-old a three-year contract, but it’s worth noting that they could get out of that after two years.
But why did they give him such a long deal and a sweet raise? Well, because he was fantastic. His ability to blitz matches well with Flores’ tendency to send extra rushers and the duo will continue to haunt quarterbacks in 2026.
Wilson started 16 games last season and played in all 17, and logged 115 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, and 4 forced fumbles as one of the most productive linebackers in all of football. He actually led all linebackers in sacks, tackles for loss and QB pressures, thriving as a blitzer under Flores.
He played like a genuine difference-maker in 2025, a conclusion supported by the Next Gen Stats analytics team, which included him on its All-Pro team.
Here’s the write-up: “Wilson emerged as a centerpiece of Brian Flores’ defense in 2025. The Vikings allowed 4.5 yards per play when Wilson was on the field, compared with 6.5 when he was off the field, the largest split of any defender with 100+ snaps on and off. Wilson’s 22.5% pressure rate was the highest by any player with 150+ pass rushes since 2022, his 4.4 yards per target allowed in coverage were the fewest among linebackers and his 20 run stuffs were the third-most in the NFL.”
Cashman is still the alpha in the room, but Wilson’s out-of-nowhere 2025 season deserves some credit. He’ll look to defend his starting job against rookie Jake Golday.
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