By Matthew Coller
EAGAN — With 1:54 remaining in the Minnesota Vikings’ matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Eric Wilson lined up for his 61st play of the day.
He creeped up to the A gap with fellow linebacker Blake Cashman alongside him. When quarterback Baker Mayfield took the snap on third-and-13 with hopes of producing a game-winning drive, his dreams of a heroic moment turned to a nightmare when he saw Wilson.
As Mayfield was dropping back, Cashman was the first man through the line of scrimmage. Wilson got picked up by running back Bucky Irving. But as soon as Mayfield hesitated, Wilson freed himself from the RB, then dodged a helping offensive lineman. Once Wilson saw Mayfield running from Cashman, it was on.
Wilson took off after the quarterback like he’d stolen his wallet. A terrified Mayfield kept scrambling backward and escaped Wilson’s grasp the first time he got close. But Wilson got back up off the ground without missing a beat and kept motoring toward the QB. Finally Mayfield was pinned against the sideline as Wilson dove and hit him. Mayfield threw wildly, right into the hands of outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel to put the game on ice.
“What jumped out to me watching the tape last week was, it’s a hot day and the defense played a lot of snaps and just how hard [Wilson] was playing and how he was flying around the field, closing on tackles,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “I think he’s been phenomenal for us.”
Through three weeks, Wilson has eight QB pressures, 1.5 sacks, 13 tackles on negative plays for the offense and has been in coverage 78 times with only nine receptions into his coverage for 96 yards.
We have just gotten used to the fact that he is one of the stars of the Vikings’ defense, which ranks No. 1 in the NFL in Expected Points Added. It’s easy to forget that when he returned to Minnesota in 2025, Wilson opened the season as a backup and special teams ace.
The 32-year-old linebacker worked as a fill-in while Cashman was hurt early last season but played well enough to keep the starting spot when Cashman came back. It wasn’t until his game against the Detroit Lions in Week 9 that it was clear there was something special happening. In that game, Wilson posted two sacks and six total QB pressures, steamrolling star running back Jahmyr Gibbs in pass protection to the point that the Lions had to take him out.
Wilson finished the season No. 1 in the NFL among inside linebackers in 2025 along with 11th in tackles on negative plays (PFF’s “stops” stat) and since that game vs. Detroit he has 6.5 sacks and 35 pressures in 13 games.
He is already one of the most unique Vikings stories in a long time. Wilson only had one season playing as a full-time starter before 2025 and that was during his first stint with the Vikings in 2020.
“The biggest thing is he’s just realizing how good he is,” safety Harrison Smith said.
But he’s now become so much more than a good story.
Wilson has turned into the “glue guy” to this dominating defense, according to defensive coordinator Brian Flores. On the field, his skill set is a driver for the team’s success and behind the scenes he’s putting in the work to prepare for Flores’ dynamic scheme and playing a big role in shaping the locker room atmosphere as an A+ vibes guy.
You will often hear that a player has “high Football IQ.” That phrase makes it sound like the fella came out of the womb with John Madden’s knowledge of the game imprinted on their brain. That’s not entirely how it works but Wilson could convince you that he was diagnosing play-actions while he was in diapers.
“Football makes sense to E-Will,” O’Connell said. “Plays make sense. Adjustments make sense. How he can do something a certain way to maybe open up something for [Cashman] or [Ivan Pace Jr.] or anybody else.”
While the instincts are strong in Wilson, the IQ part of his success in Flores’ system is also driven by preparation, communication, selflessness and relationships and then it translates to the field.
“He’s such a great example….of what it looks like to be an impact player on our defense and doing it by playing your role and having total clarity on what they’re doing out there because then the football instincts can take over from there, match it with the play style,” O’Connell said.
The preparation part is strongly required to play for Flores. Like many others on the defense, he is asked to play in multiple roles. Out of his 199 snaps through three games, Wilson has played left outside linebacker on 33 snaps, right outside linebacker on 30, inside linebacker on 122 and slot corner on 14.
“He’s a very good blitzer, he’s good in pass coverage, he plays multiple positions and his versatility allows us to give other guys a break,” Flores said. “He goes in for Van Ginkel, he goes in [at weakside linebacker], he plays some Mike [middle linebacker]. He plays in the kicking game. He’s a really good in coverage and blitz. I think teams are accounting for him in the protection…and if they are, he can drop out of there and get somebody else free.”
Because he can handle so much mentally and do so many different things, Wilson has been a perfect fit for playing alongside linebacker Blake Cashman, who is the defensive play caller and is equally as intelligent, instinctual and versatile. That has helped maximize Wilson’s talents and their closeness plays into their success as a duo.
“We have a good feel for playing off each other, but also we’re constantly having dialogue on the field,” Cashman said. “No matter where we’re aligned, constantly talking, staying ahead of calls. So we just keep bouncing those thoughts, ideas and conversations off one another, and it helps us play better and play faster.”
The understanding of the defense between Wilson and Cashman goes so deep that Flores says the two can call the defense if there are any issues with getting the play in from the sideline.
“He’s got a little bit of coach on on the field element to him,” Flores said of Wilson. “He and Cash have saved me a couple times when I didn’t get the call in quick enough and they make the call.”
Being able to make adjustments and change calls seamlessly doesn’t just take Football IQ, it requires an ability to speak the same language under any circumstances, whether it’s the final play of the game against the Bucs on the road or if it’s in 120 decibel US Bank Stadium on a third down.
“We have a good feel for playing off each other, but also we’re constantly having dialogue on the field,” Cashman said. “No matter where we’re aligned, constantly talking, staying ahead of calls. So we just keep bouncing those thoughts, ideas, those conversations off one another, and it helps us play better and play faster.”
That type of relationship doesn’t just happen. Teammates say that Wilson has a connection with players across the locker room and can effectively work with anyone on the defense or special teams.
“There’s a high, high level of communication that needs to take place on those snaps and it isn’t working without being able to feel out different personalities,” safety Harrison Smith said. “It’s the stuff you don’t realize when you’re watching on TV, but you have to know who you’re working with and how best to communicate with them.”
Flores used an example of the little ways that Wilson relates to teammates. During meetings, the defense takes five-minute breaks and during them Wilson and fellow linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. will compete shooting water bottles into a wastebasket. Now it has become sport as teammates watch and root on the mini competition.
“People want to be around him,” Flores said. “He’s got a ‘glue guy’ element to him and brings guys together. Being in that hub of communication as a linebacker, he’s talking to D-linemen, he’s talking to secondary guys, he’s talking to really everybody.”
Maybe it’s his natural personality or maybe it’s the path that Wilson took from undrafted free agent from Cincinnati to special teamer to journeyman back to starter that allows him to never take a day in the NFL for granted.
“He’s a tone setter. That guy has still a lot of youth,” Cashman said. “It amazes me just the way he runs out there. He hasn’t even got warmed up yet, and he’s throwing the ball around, doing all different kinds of movements across the field. I mean, it’s incredible.”
The consistency of Wilson’s vibe is what stands out to Harrison Smith.
“It’s not, like, fraudulent,” Smith said. He’s pretty positive, dude, every day. He doesn’t really fluctuate. He is always sharp. The effort is always there. You’re not gonna find anybody with more effort than him, so that rubs off, I guys. You’ll see that, you’re like, ‘I wanna be a part of that.’ It’s very natural for him without having to say a lot. And he’s vocal too, but he doesn’t have to be.”
Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels called Wilson “one of the biggest acquisitions we’ve had from an intangible standpoint,” even if he hasn’t been able to use Wilson on special teams as much as he would have liked (though he still plays field goal block and occasional punt return).
“He does it with so much joy and that’s what you really appreciate about E-Will is that he’s constantly communicating to his teammates and constantly trying to find ways to elevate his teammates and he plays with so much physicality and energy that it exudes and pours over into the sidelines,” Daniels said.
The Vikings’ current special teams standout, Bo Richter, has become tight with Wilson since the veteran linebacker arrived last year. They play golf and both like cars.
“I can’t say enough good things about him,” Richter said. “Nobody dislikes the guy. He’s the guy that everybody loves. Personally, a great friend of mine…absolutely a glue guy, absolutely a guy like that who’s gonna make plays on Sundays and he’s just gonna be doing stuff the right way.”
Last season the Vikings played the first part of the season without Wilson in his current role. Based on the first three games, in which the Vikings have posted the No. 1 pressure rate, per Pro-Football Reference, the most sacks, the sixth lowest rush yards per attempt allowed and the lowest opposing passer rating, it appears that being the best defense in the league is not out of reach.
It’s not a coincidence. That wouldn’t be the case without Wilson bringing the defense together, whether it’s in the form of a hustle play, an adjustment pre-snap or the vibe of a Wednesday practice.
One of many awesome stories on the team. Been fun to watch him the last year or so. It does still feel like he should be 5 years older than he is since he already has a stint with the Vikes.