EAGAN, Minn. — Jalen Redmond had a good feeling.

He smiled to himself during the Vikings first defensive install, watching Brian Flores walk through the scheme.

"I noticed it right away," Redmond said. "I was like, 'Yeah, this is me. This is perfect. This is what I do.' "

First signed by Carolina as an undrafted rookie out of Oklahoma, Redmond had spent the 2023 offseason with the Panthers but was waived early that August and did not receive an NFL opportunity that season. He joined the XFL's Arlington Renegades on Dec. 11, racking up 18 tackles and 4.5 sacks in just four games for the team. In June 2024, his contract was terminated to allow him to sign with the Vikings.

Since joining Minnesota, Redmond survived initial roster cuts in 2024 but was waived that October, spent a stint on the practice squad and is now approaching one full year on the team's active roster.

There's no "camp body" here. Redmond has become an integral element of the Vikings defense — and he knew early on that status was reachable.

"This is a great place to be," he said, explaining he's asked by Flores to do similar things he did at Oklahoma, where as a senior in 2022 he recorded four sacks, 23 tackles and 10 tackles for loss.

"It's a great feeling," Redmond recalled of that initial install. "You see it and you're like, 'OK, I can definitely see myself — well, I have done this. And the way you're teaching it, it's similar.' It was great."

The defensive lineman appreciates the way Flores' scheme allows him to play free and utilizes his strengths. He's also grateful Flores and his defensive coaches "give everyone a chance."

Flores saw tremendous potential in Redmond from the get-go.

He recently referenced "checkpoints" that coaches have for developing players, saying if players hit those boxes, they have a good chance of finding success.

"I would say 'Red' and [2024 seventh-round draft selection] Levi [Drake Rodriguez] have both hit a lot of those markers," Flores said. "Even a year ago, you could see they had the [football] intelligence, they had the physical attributes, they had the things you need to develop, and they were going to work hard enough to do it.

"Ultimately, that's what we're talking about," Flores added. "Both of these guys, it's very important to them, so they'll do what it takes to get every little bit out of their bodies that they can, and you're seeing that on field now."

This season, Redmond is leading all of Minnesota's defense with three sacks and is third on the unit with five tackles for loss, behind outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard (9) and Rodriquez (6). Redmond's 20 tackles thus far are fourth-most among Vikings defensive linemen.

Analytics site Pro Football Focus has graded Redmond positively throughout the season, giving him an overall defense grade of 76.1 through Week 8. He received grades of 66.6 in run defense, 79.6 in pass rush and 68.3 in tackling.

And though Minnesota's defense has experienced some struggles this season, Redmond continues to impress.

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell spoke to media members after the Vikings disappointing loss to the Chargers and expressed frustration in overall team execution. He later mentioned "bright spots," however, specifically noting Redmond "continuously showing up on the tape."

Redmond's NFL journey is an unconventional one.

In fact, he didn't even give football a legitimate shot until his junior year of high school. (He quips he "doesn't really count" the year of eight-grade rec league in which he played wide receiver.)

Redmond shined on the basketball court for Midwest City, helping the team go 20-3 and rank No. 3 in Oklahoma during his junior season. But that same year, he was talked into giving the football team a try — and never really looked back.

The Oklahoman reporter Scott Wright summed it up well in a 2017 article highlighting Redmond as No. 6 on the "Super 30" recruit rankings series:

Jalen Redmond has never really looked like a high school basketball player. Even when he broke in as a freshman, starting for the Midwest City basketball team, he was built like a linebacker with a well-defined,

6-foot-4 frame.

Wright noted Redmond's transition to the football field and wrote, "nothing has been the same since."

Redmond says the same now.

"Honestly, I was just trying something new. I didn't know I was gonna end up sticking with football," he laughed. "I just wanted to do something new, and I ended up enjoying it and being somewhat good at it. It was all up from there, honestly, so yeah, I put basketball aside."

In his first-ever varsity football season, Redmond racked up 82 tackles and 14 sacks, prompting double-digit offers from colleges that hadn't previously been aware of the athlete. He went on to post 87 tackles, 34 tackles for loss and a whopping 19.5 sacks as a senior, earning First-Team All-State honors from The Oklahoman.

Redmond announced his commitment to play for his home-state Oklahoma Sooners, but once again he faced a hurdle when a medical condition sidelined him for almost the entirety of his freshman campaign. He appeared in 13 games in 2019, recording a team-leading 6.5 sacks, but then opted out of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned to the team in 2021 and played in eight games; as a senior in 2022, he had 23 tackles, four sacks and 10 tackles for loss in 12 games.

Asked if he ever reflects on the difficult path he's traveled to this point, Redmond paused for a moment and responded, "Of course. All the time."

"I always sit back and am like, 'Wow.' Like, I'm really here,' " he said.

Redmond credits his family, including his young son, with helping keep him grounded through the ups and downs.

"They kept me going," he said. "Even when it got hard and I almost felt like, 'OK, maybe this is not what I'm supposed to be doing,' my family kept me going — and I'm happy I kept grinding and kept pushing to get here."

Redmond has made a number of important plays for the Vikings this season, including forcing a fumble (recovered by Allen) against the Bengals in Week 3 and breaking up a Dillon Gabriel pass against the Browns. Even in games that didn't go Minnesota's way, Redmond has stood out.

Among the most memorable for him (though he would have preferred the victory) will be sacking four-time All-Pro Aaron Rodgers in Dublin … not just once, but twice.

"It definitely felt great," he said. "As a defensive player, we have guys where, 'Shoot, I would love to sack that quarterback.' That's Aaron Rodgers. That's one of the GOATs. It's like guys who got to sack Tom Brady."

But as much as he appreciates the stats that might easier catch fans' attention, Redmond prides himself most on consistency.

Reliability. Earning trust from his coaches and teammates. That is Jalen Redmond's focus.

"I always say this, just being more consistent and showing up on tape, whether that's sacks or stopping the run," he said. "Sacks, they're hard to get; they're very hard to get. I'm glad I've got three, and I would love to have more. But being a good run stopper and being consistent in whatever that is, that's most important."

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