Inside The Vikings

3 young Vikings defenders whose arrows are pointing up entering 2026

These players are worth watching in Week 18 and should be in line for big roles next year.
Will Ragatz|
Nov 16, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner (15) reacts after a tackle during the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Nov 16, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings linebacker Dallas Turner (15) reacts after a tackle during the first quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

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Despite this week's Vikings-Packers regular season finale not having any postseason stakes, there are still plenty of reasons to tune in. One of those is to watch three young Vikings defenders whose arrows are pointing directly upward heading into the 2026 season.

OLB Dallas Turner (22 years old)

Much has been made of Turner's second NFL season, which has been largely a positive for the former first-round pick. With one game left, he's already more than doubled his playing time from his rookie campaign and has seen the statistical results follow. Turner has 60 tackles, 40 pressures, 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 3 pass breakups through 16 games. He's coming off one of the best games of his career last week against the Lions, when he had five pressures, a half-sack forced fumble, and a tackle for loss.

Turner has spent much of this season showing flashes but searching for consistency and play-to-play impact. Lately, he's found that more and more often. The splash plays have been there as a pass rusher, and Turner has also impressed as an edge-setting run defender. The raw talent is off the charts for a guy who hasn't even hit his 23rd birthday. Turner's ceiling remains extremely high heading into 2026, and that'll be true even if Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel remain on the roster next year.

DT Jalen Redmond (26)

Redmond stretches the definition of "young player" a bit, as he'll be 27 and in the heart of his athletic prime next season. He also stretches the idea of being an ascending player, as he fully put together a breakout 2025 campaign. But it's worth talking more about him here anyways. Redmond is sixth among all Vikings defensive players with 766 snaps and is tied with Turner for third on the team with 6 sacks, one behind clubhouse leader Andrew Van Ginkel. The former undrafted free agent and UFL standout has had a remarkably great year, ranking 14th out of 55 NFL DTs (min. 500 snaps) in PFF grade.

And while it's possible this is the ceiling for Redmond, it's also not crazy to think that he could reach another level from a statistical standpoint, considering this was just his second season in the league. He's looked unblockable at times, most notably in his nine-pressure game against the Chargers in October. Redmond has established himself as a critical building block in this defense and earned a major pay raise on his next contract.

S Jay Ward (25)

Whereas Turner and Redmond are wrapping up year two, Ward is in his third season and will enter the final year of his rookie deal in 2026. But after spending most of his career on special teams, stuck behind three excellent safeties, Ward has finally gotten a real shot to play in recent weeks due to Josh Metellus landing on IR — and the talent has been evident. He saw a career-high 44 snaps against the Giants and chipped in six tackles and two pressures in a strong outing. Ward then played 39 more snaps against the Lions and have five more tackles, earning an outstanding 84.2 PFF run defense grade.

There's a lot to like about Ward heading into a contract year. He's a versatile athlete who can line up at a variety of spots in Brian Flores' defense. He's currently handling the Metellus role as a blitzing, run defending box safety, but he can play as a deep safety or line up in the slot as well. And with Harrison Smith potentially retiring, Ward could be in line for a major 2026 role. Even if Smith elects to play one more year, Ward may have surpassed Theo Jackson on the organizational depth chart at safety.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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