Minnesota Vikings Land Priority D-Lineman

The Minnesota Vikings’ NFL negotiating period got off to a slow start on Monday. While rival teams scooped up dozens and dozens of the top free agents available, the Vikings made some under-the-radar DB signings and waited patiently.

Then, as kids were getting home from school and adults were clocking out for the day, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (or maybe head coach Kevin O’Connell) made his move. The first The Athletic Top 150 free agent signing of the day was on the interior offensive line, 31-year-old center Ryan Kelly (Colts).

A few hours later, the MN Vikings accomplished a rare feat in bringing back one of their own unrestricted free agents, 27-year-old Byron Murphy Jr, after he had already (unofficially) hit the market and negotiated with other teams. It wasn’t cheap, though.

Minnesota Vikings sign top DT Jonathan Allen

But Kwesi (or O’Connell) & Co. weren’t done yet. After a short night’s sleep, the Jeremy Fowler (ESPN) woke up bright and early Tuesday morning with more Vikings news. Top defensive tackle Jonathan Allen (Commanders), who visited TCO Performance Center on Monday, has agreed to terms on a 3-year, $60 million contract.

Two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen has reached an agreement with the #Vikings on a three-year, $60 million contract, per @AdamSchefter. The deal was negotiated by @blakebaratz of @TeamIFA.

Help in the trenches for Brian Flores’ defense. pic.twitter.com/ZbNLWQIaO4

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 11, 2025

Allen’s new deal cannot be signed until the league year officially begins on Wednesday. But when he does put pen to paper, it’s worth noting that — because Allen was released by the Commanders — this signing will not count against the MN Vikings comp pick formula for the 2026 NFL Draft (per Thor Nystrom).

Well, the 30-year-old 2X Pro Bowler plays on the interior defensive line, so the signing won’t get a lot of run, nationally. After news of Allen’s signing broke on ESPN’s “Get Up” Tuesday morning, all-time Patriot linebacker great Tedy Bruschi tried to change the conversation away from QBs, over to how great of a get Allen is for Minnesota. The rest of the panel laughed him off and asked, ‘what does that have to do with Aaron Rodgers?’.

How excited should Vikings fans be about Allen signing?

But from a winning standpoint, the Allen signing will prove as the most important signing of the Minnesota Vikings offseason. Jonathan Allen is the No. 10 overall free agent on The Athletic’s Top 150, easily becoming the highest ranked Vikings free agency signing this week. Byron Murphy Jr was ranked 28th overall, Ryan Kelly was 74th.

Jonathan Allen has 401 total tackles, 118 quarterback hits, 60 TFL and 42 sacks in 109 games during his 8-year NFL career. Until 2024, when he missed 9 games due to a season-ending pectoral injury, health has never really been an issue for Allen, who started at least 15 games every year from 2018 to 2023.

PFF is not the biggest fan of Jonathan Allen, in recent seasons. In 2024, he got just a 54.6 grade in 300 snaps prior to his injury. One season earlier, he posted an underwhelming 59.7 defensive grade.

Related: Minnesota Vikings Free Agency Signings – 2025

From 2020 to 2022, however, Allen posted much more respectable PFF grades of 80.1, 84.9 and 80.3, respectively. The former Alabama Crimson Tide monster’s specialty is getting after the passer, something his PFF grades also make apparent.