3 Vikings Show Up in Early Pro Bowl Voting
The title of this article may sound somewhat uplifting, but the current state of Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl voting is depressing. Just three men placed in the Top 10 of voting at their respective positions, and players like Justin Jefferson and Christian Darrisaw aren’t even remotely represented.
Three Vikings have shown up early in Pro Bowl voting, with the early recognition coming from lesser-known roles like returner and long snapper.
Nevertheless, three unsung Vikings have a shot at the Pro Bowl, as the team winds down a season that stands at 5-8 through 14 weeks.
Trio of Vikings with Pro Bowl Aspirations
These are those men in alphabetical order.
1. Andrew DePaola | LS
Rank at Position: 1st
The 38-year-old has a stranglehold on this damn piece of recognition. DePaola has earned Pro Bowl kudos three years running — four if voting holds in 2025.
Long snappers don’t necessarily accrue traditional stats per se, and Pro Football Focus assigns just generic grades.
So, it’s just established in NFL special teams circles that DePaola is the best of the best, and no one appears near to knocking him from the perch. Green Bay Packers long snapper Matthew Orzech and Chicago Bears LS Scott Daly checked in at No. 2 and 3, respectively.
SI.com‘s Will Ragatz mentioned this week about DePaola as Minnesota’s best chance to send a player to the Pro Bowl: “Genuinely, the best chance might belong to DePaola, the Vikings’ long snapper, who has made the Pro Bowl in each of the past three years. He’s definitely good at his job, but also, there’s so little variance in long snapping ability that reputation matters.”
2. C.J. Ham | FB
Rank at Position: 8th
Fullbacks aren’t necessarily a hot commodity in the NFL these days, but Ham is in the Pro Bowl Top 10 voting, nevertheless.
His inclusion in voting is even more impressive — or a product of so few fullbacks — considering Ham has missed six games this season. He has played only about half the time and has one reception for 5 yards. Ham, however, is well-known for the dirty work, boasting a 74.1 pass-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus in 2025, a vital mark because the club employs a first-time starter at quarterback.
Ham played a season-high 25 snaps last weekend against the Washington Commanders, as his team destroyed Jayden Daniels and friends by a score of 31-0. Minnesota finally ran the ball at a preferred clip, and Ham saw more playing time accordingly. The Vikings should keep it up.
The longtime purple fullback has been selected to the Pro Bowl twice: 2019 and 2023.
Our Janik Eckardt on Ham: “C.J. Ham is coming off an excellent game on Sunday. He opened rushing lanes for Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones and helped protect J.J. McCarthy in the passing game. The Minnesota native started the season on IR with an injury and missed all but seven games. He has one catch for five yards on his 2025 stat sheet.”
“Ham has been to two Pro Bowls in his career, in 2019 and 2023. It helps when the 49ers make the Super Bowl, as their fullback Kyle Juszczyk is the obvious NFC fullback at the Pro Bowl. He’s a nine-time Pro Bowler and Ham only has a shot if he can’t go. The Viking is only 8th in voting but he’s third in the NFC, trailing his foe from the 49ers and Hunter Luepke of the Cowboys.”
3. Myles Price | Returner
Rank at Position: 4th
An undrafted gem from Indiana — typing that college in an NFL article actually means something now — Price has seized the Vikings’ returning jobs and made them his own.
Price ranks 10th in the NFL among all kick returners with at least 20 returns. He averaged 26.3 yards per kick return. A Top 10 specialist in that regard. Via punts (9.9 yards), Price’s ranking shrinks a bit, checking in at No. 17 among all punt returners with at least 12 attempts.
The man always feels like he is about to break one for a touchdown. Along the way, Minnesota’s special teams often cannot get out of their own way on returns via penalties. Eventually, the unit will have a clean transaction, and Price will take one to the house.
It will also be fascinating to see, down the line, if Minnesota uses Price on offense. For 2025 purposes, that is strictly forbidden. Price has played just 14 offensive snaps as a rookie.
Price must clean up his fumbles during the 2026 offseason; he has four this year.
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