The Vikings’ Trenches May Boast a Surprise Starter

Back in March, the Vikings’ trenches lost a pair of well-paid veterans. Minnesota said goodbye to both of Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen since neither lived up to their deals. At the time, the d-line boasted no sure replacement other than Jalen Redmond, who had already been established as a starter.

Since that time, the Vikings have made several moves to reinforce the trenches. Opting for Caleb Banks in the 1st Round means pushing the chips into the middle of the table in the hope of hitting the jackpot. Opting for Domonique Orange in the 3rd Round means going for a more modest payoff since he looks like an early-down run stuffer. Other pickups — Eric Johnson, Smith Vilbert, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Monkell Goodwine, and so on — have involved lesser-known talents. Where does that leave Levi Drake Rodriguez?

The Vikings’ Trenches
Watch for Levi Drake Rodriguez as a Starter in 2026

Very few offer the effort that Rodriguez offers. He’s reminiscent of a 3rd-line energy forward, a gritty player who isn’t the flashiest but who helps his team regardless.

Consider what Lance Zierlein had to say in his scouting report leading into the 2024 NFL Draft: “Rodriguez plays with a big heart and a steady motor, but he lacks NFL size and skill inside. He gives good effort on each snap but spends too much time staying attached to blockers instead of finding quick routes around them. He has decent length for his size, but he doesn’t do enough damage with his hands and lacks the short-area foot quickness teams will look for from a smaller player. Rodriguez has been a productive player, but the step up in competition feels like it could be too big for him.”

Watching Rodriguez at the Vikings’ minicamp brought out a lot of the positives that Zierlein identified.

In the third-year defender, the Vikings boast somebody with a promising motor. He moves with violent urgency, the sort of effort that can’t be taught. Rather, there’s an intensity inside of Rodriguez that manifests itself in the physicality of his swim/rip moves, the way he fires out of his three-point stance, and in his desire to swat the ball out of the passer’s hands (if only the June practice version, such as a coach or bag with a ball).

In sixteen games last year (two starts), Levi Drake Rodriguez had 43 tackles. The stat sheet also shows 2 sacks, 5 quarterback hits, and 8 tackles for loss. Remember that his workload was reasonably beefy, coming in at 461 defensive snaps and 85 snaps on special teams.

As a rookie, Rodriguez picked up a 75.0 PFF grade. The problem with that assessment is that it factored in a very small workload: 6 snaps on defense. In 2025, Rodriguez got hit with a 57.8 grade, suggesting he offered below average football.

Already, Rodriguez is a success story.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah gets a ton of criticism for his draft failures but the DT isn’t among them. Getting chosen at No. 232 (the 7th) means facing long odds just to make the team, much less play a meaningful role. The simple fact that he’s playing early in his career and doing reasonably well is evidence that the pick was more than worth it.

Best guess is that Rodriguez will work alongside Redmond and Orange in Week 1. Doing so will mean having a true anchor in the middle of the DL — Big Citrus — to stifle the run while Rodriguez and Redmond get tasked with creating penetration.

Banks, in theory, could be out there, but it’s hard to feel too confident given that he’s still not getting into practice. Banks has the potential to transform the Vikings’ trenches. He can’t do so, though, unless he’s healthy enough to play. The other issue: he’s missing a lot of development time. Oh, and Minnesota tends to take things very slow with injuries. Quite possibly, an opening is there for somebody else.

Levi Drake Rodriguez is 25. He stands at 6’2″ and weighs roughly 310 pounds. Look for him to be out there for the opening snap of the Week 1 Packers game.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.