Four Vikings players are out in front of NFC competition at their positions on Pro Bowl ballots.
It's early in the process, but Justin Jefferson, Andrew Van Ginkel, Byron Murphy, Jr., and Andrew DePaola are the conference's top fan voting earners for the 2025 Pro Bowl Games as of 11 a.m. (CT) on Monday.
Jefferson and DePaola pace NFC and AFC wide receivers and long snappers.
On Sunday against Arizona, "Jets" entered into a rare realm of pass-catchers to post five consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns to start their careers (Mike Evans, A.J. Green and Randy Moss) and currently holds an edge in voting over college teammate Ja'Marr Chase of the Bengals, the lone AFC wideout in the top five. They lead Detroit's Amon-Ra St. Brown, Washington's Terry McLaurin and Dallas' CeeDee Lamb.
Other NFC wide receivers in the top 10 are Green Bay's Jayden Reed and Philadelphia's A.J. Brown.
DePaola, who was injured on Sunday Night Football in Week 9, was elected to the Pro Bowl each of the past two seasons and is being chased on the NFC side by Detroit's Hogan Hatten (2nd in the overall top 10), Green Bay's Matthew Orzech (7th), Philadelphia's Rick Lovato (8th) and Dallas' Trent Sieg (10th).
Two stalwarts on Minnesota's defense, Van Ginkel and Murphy, are pegged 2nd and 4th overall among outside linebackers and cornerbacks.
With 9.0 sacks, 15 tackles for a loss and two interceptions returned for touchdowns, Van Ginkel is strengthening his case for All-Pro honors. Anyhow, he's second right now to Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt in the Pro Bowl fan vote, two spots ahead of Vikings teammate Jonathan Greenard. The 1-2 punch is followed in the NFC by a 1-2 punch on the Commanders – Dante Fowler, Jr., at No. 5 and Frankie Luvu at No. 9.
Murphy, meanwhile, on Sunday became the first Vikings cornerback since Patrick Peterson in 2022 with five interceptions – ironically, he tied the feat of his former Cardinals teammate by intercepting draft classmate Kyler Murray – and is the fourth CB listed behind Baltimore's Marlon Humphrey, Denver's Pat Surtain II and Pittsburgh's Donte Jackson. Other NFC agents are Jaire Alexander and Carlton Davis III.
In addition to the five Vikings players mentioned above, there are seven others so far highly favored within fan circles. Here's the group in accordance with their NFC rank: C.J. Ham is second among fullbacks; Garrett Bradbury is fourth among centers; Camryn Bynum is fourth among free safeties; Joshua Metellus is fourth among strong safeties; Trent Sherfield, Sr., is fourth among special teams players; Sam Darnold is fifth among quarterbacks, and Aaron Jones, Sr., is seventh among running backs.
Fan voting for the Pro Bowl Games continues through Dec. 23.
There's no limit to the number of times a fan can vote and you can do so at ProBowl.com/Vote and directly on X during the final two weeks (Dec. 9-23) by posting the player's first and last name, tagging his official handle or creating a hashtag with the player's full name.
Any of the three methods performed on social media must include the hashtag #ProBowlVote. Those social votes will count as double Dec. 22-23, which means set your calendars and alarms accordingly.
View the Vikings in Big Head Mode following their Week 13 win over the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Inevitable first-timer
Sticking with the theme, let's discuss ESPN's "First-time Pro Bowl nominee" for the Vikings.
Kevin Seifert on Tuesday casted his vote for Minnesota's sacks leader Greenard, writing the following:
Greenard has been one of the NFL's best pass rushers. He is tied for fourth in the league with 10 sacks, and his 36 pressures rank 11th. Greenard also has made the transition from a classic 4-3 defensive end to an outside linebacker role that has required him to drop into coverage an average of three times per game — all while playing a career-high 81.3% of his team's defensive snaps.
ESPN's database might actually be low on Greenard's total impact.
According to analytics website Pro Football Focus, the 27-year-old is up to 60 pressures in 2024, which leads the entire league. PFF credits Greenard with five-plus pressures in nine of 12 games and seven-plus in three (against the 49ers, Jets and Lions). Also, his three games of 2.0-plus sacks is tied for second most.
Greenard had a hat trick of sacks facing his former team in Week 3. He sacked Joe Flacco twice in the final 2:05 on SNF in Week 9. In overtime at Chicago in Week 12, Greenard showed unbelievable stamina, sacking No. 1 draft choice Caleb Williams nearly 10 seconds after the snap. And in the club's 10th win Sunday, he fought through congestion (in every sense, battling a week-long illness plus breaking through for Minnesota's first defensive sack) and set back Arizona on its last drive with a clutch sack-fumble.
Yeah, a place in the Pro Bowl Games better be reserved for Greenard.
