Player
Eric Wilson
LB · Vikings
Eric Wilson: facts drawn from the play-by-play.
From 2017 UDFA to 2025 Vikings sack leader — a 9-year LB arc that finally peaked at 30.
TrendWilson defensive line by season
| Season | Team | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | QB Hits | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | MIN | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2018 | MIN | 39 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 2019 | MIN | 72 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
| 2020 | MIN | 118 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| 2021 | PHI/HOU | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | GB | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | GB | 34 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | GB | 68 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | MIN | 111 | 17 | 6.5 | 10 | 4 |
Wilson's career splits into three eras: a Vikings climb (2017-2020) that ended with 118 tackles in 2020, a journeyman middle (2021-2023) with Houston, Philadelphia, and Green Bay where he played mostly special teams, and a second Vikings act (2024-2025) that produced his career-best statistical season at age 30.
2025 in Minnesota: 111 tackles, 17 TFL, 6.5 sacks, 10 QB hits, 4 forced fumbles. Every category but tackles set a new career best — and tackles were just 7 shy of his 2020 peak.
Combined tackles per season
| Season | Tackles |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 9 |
| 2018 | 39 |
| 2019 | 72 |
| 2020 | 118 |
| 2021 | 17 |
| 2022 | 15 |
| 2023 | 34 |
| 2024 | 68 |
| 2025 | 111 |
17 TFL in 2025 — the only Vikings LB to clear that bar in this database.
RareWilson's 17 tackles-for-loss in 2025 is the headline disruption number. It came across 17 games at age 30 — one per game on the nose — and was paired with 10 QB hits and 6.5 sacks, meaning he averaged 2 disruption events per game as a blitzing off-ball linebacker.
He also added 4 forced fumbles — equal to his TOTAL of FFs over the prior 8 seasons combined (he had 3 FFs from 2017 to 2024 combined).
In Minnesota years (2017-20, 2025): 349 tackles. Away (2021-24): 134.
SplitWilson by chapter
| Chapter | Seasons | Tackles | Sacks | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings I | 2017-20 | 238 | 8 | 2 |
| Journeyman | 2021-24 | 134 | 3 | 1 |
| Vikings II | 2025 | 111 | 6.5 | 4 |
Strip the 4-year journeyman middle and Wilson is a 5-season Viking with 349 tackles, 14.5 sacks, and 6 forced fumbles. The numbers say what eyes have said — he's a system fit in Brian Flores' attacking front, and Minnesota knew it when they brought him back in 2024.
The Houston/Philadelphia/Green Bay years weren't bad fits so much as they were rotational roles — across 47 games in that stretch he never started a full slate.
2020 was the breakout — 118 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 INTs as the Vikings' green-dot LB.
MilestoneIn 2020 Wilson, in his age-26 contract year, took over the green-dot communications role from an injured Anthony Barr and posted 118 combined tackles in 16 games. That season also produced 3 INTs and 3 sacks — the rare LB three-way line that priced him out of Minnesota in free agency.
He parlayed that into a Philadelphia deal, then a trade midseason to Houston, then a free-agent year in Green Bay. It took four years to get back to that level — but 2025 cleared 2020 in every category but raw tackles.
6.5 sacks in 2025 led the Vikings off-ball LBs — only Blake Cashman had more team tackles.
Comparison2025 Vikings defense (tackle leaders)
| Player | Pos | Tackles | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blake Cashman | LB | 143 | 2 |
| Eric Wilson | LB | 111 | 6.5 |
| Byron Murphy | CB | 71 | 0 |
| Isaiah Rodgers | CB | 65 | 0 |
| Josh Metellus | S | 84 | 0.5 |
In Brian Flores' 2025 defense, Cashman handled the pure stack-and-shed role while Wilson was the disruption piece — fewer raw tackles, but 6.5 sacks vs Cashman's 2, plus the 17 TFL and 4 FF.
The pairing was the most productive Vikings off-ball duo in years, and Wilson's contract value coming into 2025 (a 1-year prove-it) made him one of the league's best veteran free-agent bargains.
From 0.5 FF/season career rate to 4 FFs in 2025 — a complete profile shift at age 30.
AnomalyThrough 8 seasons (2017-2024) Wilson had 3 career forced fumbles in 472 combined tackles — roughly one every 157 stops. In 2025 he posted 4 FFs on 111 tackles, a rate of one every 28.
That's not luck — that's a defensive scheme that asks linebackers to attack the ball-carrier's outside arm on every contact, and a 30-year-old veteran with the technique to execute it. Combined with 17 TFL, the disruption profile in 2025 is unrecognizable from the 'tackle-machine' identity he carried before.
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