When a team greatly exceeds expectations, it usually means several position groups greatly outperformed. For this Minnesota Vikings team, several perceived weaknesses have been mitigated or, in some cases, transformed into legitimate strengths.
Sam Darnold is the poster child for this phenomenon. The former top-five draft bust turned journeyman was supposed to struggle to even hold off J.J. McCarthy by midseason. Instead, he’s leading this team on a hunt for the crown in the toughest division in the NFL.
People expected a safety room that was undermanned and then decimated by injury to bleed yardage all season. However, they found a way to settle in and play sound football. They expected the tight ends to disappoint until T.J. Hockenson returned. Instead, Josh Oliver performed admirably while Hockenson was on the mend. Hell, they even found a kicker this season.
However, perhaps the most overlooked position group early in the season that has raised expectations are the defensive tackles, particularly Jerry Tillery and Jalen Redmond.
If you’d asked fans to list the biggest needs for Brian Flores’ defense coming into the year, the top answers would have been close to unanimous: corner and defensive tackle. The defensive tackle room was buoyed by at least one true bonafide starter in veteran Harrison Phillips, but then there were a whole lot of question marks in that rotation. Relative unknowns like Redmond, Levi Drake Rodriguez, and Taki Taimani or middling veterans in Tillery and Jonathan Bullard filled the room.
This is far from a scientific analysis, but not a single one of those guys mentioned (excluding Phillips) currently has a Madden rating of above a 71, and that’s after a season of exceeding expectations. Judge me all you want for using Madden ratings to evaluate players. If New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is going to do it, then it’s fair game for me.
I’m certainly not suggesting anyone conduct their scouting around a poorly produced video game. Still, it’s an effective way to gauge the national perception of these players — and that perception is C- at best.
Yet they’ve been passable and crucial difference-makers over the past few weeks. Redmond has gone from UDFA to fringe starter and is currently third among defensive linemen in PFF grade the past three weeks. He’s made multiple splash plays and has that knack for knifing through the line for pressures and tackles for loss.
Then there’s Tillery, who once was a high-end first-round pick. After years of bouncing around the league, he seems to have finally found his groove and unlocked the talent that enticed the Los Angeles Chargers to take him 29th in 2019. He’s been a pseudo-starter for Minnesota’s front all season, but he really popped on Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears.
Watch the two plays below, both highlighting Tillery’s impact in blowing up both fourth-down runs by the Bears:
On the first play, Tillery cuts through and manages to bring D’Andre Swift down despite an awkward angle and having to shove two guys off of him in the process. On the second play, he’s easy to miss if you only watch the ball, but look at No. 99 blowing up No. 72 and No. 14. He forces the run inside and occupies two blockers in the process, making it an easy play for the rest of the defense to clog up the middle.
That’s not just good, that’s great. Tillery received a well-earned game ball for his performance.
I won’t pretend these two guys erase Minnesota’s long-term need at the position. This offseason, the interior defensive line will remain a priority for the front office, but it’s no longer a massive, four-alarm priority. They’ve found pieces they can work with to build a foundation. While they’ll need to re-sign Tillery and Redmond this offseason, the Vikings should be able to fit them under the cap.
In the meantime, this team has a chance to win now. They control their destiny for the No. 1 seed in the NFC; the playoffs could run through Minnesota. That sounds like crazy talk, but it’s very much on the table. And if it’s going to come true, the Vikings will need both of these guys to step up in the interior of the defensive front, especially against the stout running games in Green Bay and Detroit.
There is no cavalry coming. There’s no magic free agent out there who will elevate this position group. If Minnesota will be a force in the post-season, they need their unheralded guys to keep stepping up. Tillery and Redmond must play essential roles.
This has been the season of exceeding expectations across the roster. And in potentially close contests over the next few games, the difference may come down to Tillery and Redmond.
