6 Vikings UDFAs With a Chance to Make the 53-Man Roster
The Minnesota Vikings have acquired six players in the draft, if you count trade acquisition Sam Howell. Donovan Jackson will make an impact quickly if he can usurp Blake Brandel on the depth chart for the left guard spot. Others like Tai Felton or Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins could need some developmental time, but have the talent to make some noise down the line.
6 Vikings UDFAs With a Chance to Make the 53-Man Roster
Well, talent and draft pedigree. Others have the former but lack the latter. Signing undrafted rookies is always a feast for the Minnesota Vikings, especially since Kwesi Adofo-Mensah replaced Rick Spielman in 2022. The ex-executive used to stack seventh-round picks to get a head start in the race for the undrafted rookies. Adofo-Mensah just signs them.
The result? Ivan Pace Jr. has been a star, and last year’s crew of Taki Taimani, Bo Richter, Gabriel Murphy, and Dwight McGlothern have made their NFL debuts.
This year, the GM has once again picked up some talented UDFAs. Here are six with a chance to be included when the Vikings announce the 53-man roster in August.
1. OT Logan Brown
Let’s start with the man who headlined some UDFA rankings. Logan Brown was a reserve at Wisconsin for years until he transferred to Kansas and showed that he is secretly a baller. Many analysts thought he should’ve been drafted in the mid-rounds.
At the combine, the 6-6, 311 right tackle produced a 9.49 relative athletic score, showing excellent explosiveness at vertical and broad jump as well as in the agility drills.
His road to the 53-man roster is beating out last year’s sixth-rounder, Walter Rouse.
2. RB Tre Stewart
The Vikings skipped the RB selection part of the draft despite the class having a remarkable reputation at the position. However, after the draft, they made a deal to bring Jacksonville State’s running back Tre Stewart to the Twin Cities.
His numbers were jaw-dropping with 1,638 rushing yards, 296 receiving yards, and 26 touchdowns from scrimmage. Oh, did I forget to mention those aren’t the career statistics, they are just from 2024?
Granted, the Conference USA isn’t the SEC or the Big 10, but that’s still not easy to do. His competition for the RB3 spot is Ty Chandler, who was demoted from RB2 duties in consecutive seasons.
3. WR Silas Bolden
Now we move to someone whose offensive output was fairly limited. The Texas wideout just caught 23 passes last year for 267 yards and a touchdown. So why is he included? Well, the man is a sweet returner. He returned 41 kicks in college and 33 punts (30 last year).
The Vikings parted ways with Brandon Powell and don’t have a designated punt returner. If he can win either one or both return gigs, Bolden would be on the roster. It’s as simple as that.
4. OG/C Joe Huber
Back to the offensive line. This man, other than Brown, actually played at Wisconsin. He’s another athletic lineman who was viewed as a guy who could hear his name called during the draft.
The Vikings fixed the interior of the offensive line, but the depth is not that great. His competition is last year’s seventh-rounder Michael Jurgens, who struggled last preseason.
5. OLB Chaz Chambliss
Think about all the talent that has come out of Georgia, including this draft that saw multiple Bulldogs selected early. And now imagine the Vikings just signed Georgia’s leading sack-getter with 6.5. That’s exactly what they did when they acquired Chaz Chambliss.
Chambliss is not a freak athlete like his former teammates, Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker, but he has a motor that never stops and brings some power to the table.
The Vikings still have the aforementioned Murphy and Richter under contract, and they will all compete for the roles behind the two starters, Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard, as well as Dallas Turner.
6. TE Ben Yurosek
Ben Yurosek visited the Vikings prior to the draft and ultimately ended up there. He ran a fast 4.64 40-yard dash with excellent splits at the scouting combine. In the final year of his college career, he caught 15 passes for Georgia, but in his previous stint at Stanford, he registered 1,342 yards and 108 catches in the last three years. Strangely, his output declined in each of the last three seasons at the college level.
Still, his measurables are intriguing, and the Vikings have some room at tight end. They drafted Gavin Bartholomew in the sixth round, who will likely be his primary competition.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference CFB helped with this article.
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