With their starting quarterback on a rookie contract for the first time in a while, the Minnesota Vikings spent the most money in NFL free agency this past offseason. It’s also safe to say most of those big moves have not panned out, as expected in what has been a highly disappointing season thus far.
But there has been a noticeable bright spot in an otherwise underwhelming 2025 free agency class for the Vikings.
In their NFL Power Rankings for Week 15, ESPN.com tapped their beat writers for the most shocking statistical ranking related to the team they cover. Vikings’ beat writer Kevin Seifert went a little deeper to reveal a positive one.
“Linebacker Eric Wilson is first in pressure rate since Week 3
The Vikings signed Wilson, 31, this spring as a core special teams player and a backup to inside linebackers Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr. But he joined the starting lineup in Week 2 following Cashman’s hamstring injury, and remained there when Cashman returned, sending Pace to the bench.
In the process, Wilson has become a crucial member of coordinator Brian Flores’ blitz schemes and has an NFL-high 17.4% pressure rate since Week 3. It’s not as if he is getting schemed up for free rushes, either. Wilson has been unblocked on only seven of his 115 rushes.”
Minnesota Vikings LB Eric Wilson has been the biggest free agent steal in the NFL this year
Wilson started his NFL career as an undrafted free agent with the Vikings in 2017. After four seasons in Minnesota, highlighted by a 122-tackle campaign in 2020, he split the 2021 season between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Houston Texans. Then he spent the three seasons prior to this one with the Green Bay Packers.
The Vikings brought Wilson back to town with a one-year, $2.6 million contract in March. The primary plans were for him to be a core special teamer and a versatile defender who could bring something to the table if called upon.
As Seifert noted, Wilson stepped into the starting lineup when Blake Cashman was injured early in the season, and he has never left.
He has also rarely left the field since then, playing at least 84 percent of the Vikings’ defensive snaps in 11 of those last 12 games. Ivan Pace, who once looked like a budding star, has been rendered a non-entity by Wilson’s high level of play.
Along with what he’s done as a pass rusher, as he’s tied for the team lead with 5.5 sacks, Wilson is second on the Vikings with 91 total tackles (two behind Cashman entering Week 15). He also leads the team with 15 tackles for loss.
It was possible to see Wilson as a nice fit for Brian Flores’ defensive scheme if he ended up having to play a lot this season. A Pro Bowl-worthy campaign was not on anyone’s bingo card, though, and the veteran linebacker has certainly put himself in line for a multi-year deal in the offseason.
He has also probably priced himself out of a return to the Vikings next season, if he prioritizes getting the best free agent deal he can.