The Minnesota Vikings entered training camp with a beefed-up defensive line, and the excitement from fans was palpable.
An assumed starting group of Javon Hargrave, Jonathan Allen and Harrison Phillips, with Jalen Redmond rotating in, was formidable on paper.
With arguably the NFL’s deepest group of edge defenders in Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Dallas Turner, and a pair of returning starters at inside linebacker in Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr., Minnesota had an embarrassment of riches on defense when the pads came on in August.
The twist came on Aug. 20, when the Vikings agreed to trade Phillips to the New York Jets in exchange for an extra sixth-round draft pick. The move was puzzling at the time, as Phillips played a key role in Brian Flores’ defense, especially against the run.
The Vikings clearly wanted to open up opportunities for their younger defensive linemen, like Redmond, to get on the field. Through three games, Redmond has looked the part of a sturdy NFL starter, logging seven pressures and six run stuffs in 104 snaps, per Pro Football Focus.
Redmond, the undrafted player who started his pro career in the UFL, was easy to see coming after he proved himself in a reserve role throughout the 2024 season. The Vikings are using another unsung defensive tackle in that spot this year — and the results have been off the charts for a seventh-round draft pick.
Levi Drake Rodriguez could be the latest defensive success story for the Minnesota Vikings
Prior to the Phillips trade, there was some outside speculation, including from SKOR North's Purple Daily Podcast, regarding Levi Drake Rodriguez and his chances of making this year’s 53-man roster, especially with undrafted rookie Elijah Williams flashing some serious pass-rushing skills over the first two preseason games.
Rodriguez’s roster spot was in zero doubt by the third preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, when the second-year pro racked up a pair of sacks, and his role has only grown since the start of the regular season.
The 25-year-old has been stout against the run this season, mixing in as Minnesota’s fourth defensive lineman; he ranks tied for fifth on the team with five run stuffs, per PFF's metrics, and played the best game of his young career this past Sunday in the rout of the Cincinnati Bengals.
It was hard not to notice the 300-pound Rodriguez and his elite head of hair on the field. He played a career high 38 snaps in Minnesota’s 48-10 win, and spent the majority of those reps tormenting Bengals’ backup quarterback Jake Browning.
Vikings reporter Alec Lewis of The Athletic raved about Rodriguez’s work on Sunday — not just in the run game but as a sneaky-good interior pass rusher.
“Levi is just… he is everywhere. Relentless motor. Crazy energy. Pursuing the football. Tracking down Jake Browning; like, I imagine, as Jake Browning laid his head to go to sleep on Sunday night, he was probably seeing that long hair just flowing at him constantly.”
Rodriguez appears poised for a prominent role in year two, a testament to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his staff’s uncanny ability to find late-round (or undrafted) diamonds in the rough.
We’re now about a month removed from the Phillips trade, and the move makes more sense by the week. The Vikings have looked as stout as advertised up front, and Rodriguez is Minnesota’s latest unsung defender who bears watching going forward.