Handing out Minnesota Vikings midseason awards: MVP, DPOY, more

We've reached the halfway point of the 2025 NFL regular season, so even if the 4-4 Vikings technically have 53 percent of their games remaining, this is the most logical time to hand out some midseason awards and superlatives. Let's dive right in.

MVP + Offensive Player of the Year: Justin Jefferson

Typically, MVP would go to a quarterback, but J.J. McCarthy has only played three games and Carson Wentz struggled for a good chunk of his five. There are a few non-quarterbacks who have a case here. You could make an argument for Andrew Van Ginkel, considering the Vikings are 3-0 when he suits up and 1-4 when he doesn't. The same type of logic could also apply to other key players who have missed time, like Christian Darrisaw or Blake Cashman.

I think Jefferson has to be the answer. Despite playing with two different quarterbacks — one a raw 22-year-old, the other a journeyman veteran backup — Jefferson ranks fifth in the NFL in receiving yards through nine weeks. He's caught 47 passes for 649 yards and two touchdowns, which puts him on pace for another 1,400 yards or so (though he's going to need McCarthy to start passing for more yards to get there). Jefferson does his thing regardless of who's playing quarterback, and his gravity opens up opportunities for everyone else in the Vikings' offense. He's the best player on the roster and one of the best players in the NFL.

Justin Jefferson — Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Defensive Player of the Year: Jonathan Greenard

Through eight games, Greenard's sack production hasn't been where he or the Vikings expect it to be. After posting 12.5 last year, he has just two sacks this season, which is tied for fourth on Minnesota's roster. But he could easily have five or six of them. Greenard has had no issue getting to quarterbacks, with a team-high 33 pressures and nine quarterback hits. He's just had a strangely hard time getting them to the ground. Several of his close calls at the QB have led to sacks for his teammates.

Greenard also brings major value as a run defender at the outside linebacker position. He's got 10 tackles for loss, which is tied for fourth-most in the league. And out of 86 edge players with at least 200 snaps, Greenard ranks seventh in PFF run defense grade. He's been excellent against both the run and the pass, and more sacks should follow in the second half. With Cashman and Van Ginkel missing time and Isaiah Rodgers not doing a whole lot outside of his one unbelievable game, Greenard is the clear choice here.

Jonathan Greenard — Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Special Teams Player of the Year: Will Reichard

Reichard has been simply outstanding. He's 16 for 18 on field goal attempts, including a 6-of-8 mark from beyond 50 yards and a franchise-record 62-yarder. He's been so good and reliable that when he does miss, it leads to controversy or at least warrants explanation. His first miss may or may not have hit a camera wire in London. His second came when he clipped the ground and didn't get to use a special kicking ball in Los Angeles. Myles Price, Ryan Wright, and Eric Wilson deserve honorable mentions here, but Reichard is the easy winner.

Rookie of the Year: Donovan Jackson

With all due respect to Price and Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, this is another obvious pick. Jackson, the Vikings' first-round selection, has stepped in as the starter at left guard and showed a lot of promise, even if there has been some unsurprising inconsistency. Through six games (he missed two after wrist surgery), Jackson's PFF numbers are fairly mediocre, but there are a lot of things to like on his tape. He figures to only get better over the back half of his rookie year.

Biggest pleasant surprise: Jalen Redmond

Redmond turned some heads last season when he got opportunities to play, so there was reason to believe he could make an impact in the Vikings' defensive tackle rotation this year. He's done that — and then some. In a room with former Pro Bowlers Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave, who received a lot of money to sign with Minnesota in free agency, the best player has pretty clearly been the former UFL standout making a league minimum salary. Redmond leads the team with four sacks, he's second with 22 pressures, and he's been good against the run as well. He also has a forced fumble. Redmond looks like a long-term asset for the Vikings in the middle of their front.

Honorable mentions in this category go to Wilson, Levi Drake Rodriguez, and Jalen Nailor.

Worst offseason move: Trading for Adam Thielen

In the moment, the move made sense. The Vikings needed another playable wide receiver with knowledge of their offense, so they went out and essentially traded away the value of a late fourth-round pick to bring Thielen home. In hindsight, it looks like a complete whiff. Thielen has five catches for 47 yards all season (all five have gone for first downs, for what it's worth) and has averaged eight offensive snaps per game over the past three weeks. With Nailor playing great football, Thielen simply hasn't been needed. He's nice to have around for veteran leadership and depth, but the draft capital wasn't worth it.

The offseason as a whole hasn't aged super well for Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings' front office, though that could still change. Their big free agent haul includes four guys who have been basically fine (Allen, Hargrave, Rodgers, Will Fries) and one guy who's been hurt (Ryan Kelly).

Toughness award: Carson Wentz

Filling in for McCarthy, Wentz suffered a dislocated left shoulder that featured a torn labrum and fractured socket in the Vikings' Week 5 London game. Not wanting to relinquish the opportunity to start for his childhood team, he played through the injury for the rest of that game — and threw the game-winning touchdown pass — and then for two more after the bye week. It culminated in a very long, painful evening against the Chargers in primetime. Wentz opted for season-ending surgery after that game, which coincided with McCarthy's return to health. The veteran deserves all kinds of respect for battling through that injury.

Best individual play

Without a doubt, it's this spectacular solo touchdown from Rodgers' historic day against the Bengals.

Isaiah Rodgers has another defensive touchdown!

CINvsMIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/RIWWQHFSOw
— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2025

Good chance Isaiah Rodgers wins NFC Defensive Player of the Week 😏

CINvsMIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/7LnLZMMd2P
— NFL (@NFL) September 21, 2025