Meet the Vikings’ New Players
Before too long, the Minnesota Vikings will determine a 53-man roster for the 2025 regular season, with training camp about three months away and the preseason around the bend after that.
Meet the Vikings’ New Players
In the meantime, the club has 90 players on the spring and summer roster, onboarding about 40 newcomers from free agency, the draft, and undrafted free agency.
These are the newcomers.
New Vikings Free Agents
- Jonathan Allen (DT)
- Bubba Bolden (S)
- Will Fries (G)
- Kahlef Hailassie (CB)
- Javon Hargrave (DT)
- Ryan Kelly (C)
- Tim Jones (WR)
- Rondale Moore (WR)
- Jeff Okudah (CB)
- Isaiah Rodgers (CB)
- Justin Skule (OT)
- Reddy Steward (CB)
- Tavierre Thomas (CB)
- Eric Wilson (LB)
The trenches headlined free agency for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, adding Allen, Hargrave, Fries, and Kelly on March 10th and 11th, free agency’s first two days.
Fans urged the purple team to “build the trenches” for years, especially after watching the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles do precisely that over the last half-decade.
Well, the Vikings got in on the fun, and because the trenches were fortified to the utmost, the franchise can be considered a low-key Super Bowl Contender.
Another significant addition, cornerback Isaiah Rodgers will battle for a CB2 job this summer if he doesn’t already have the gig in spirit.
PurplePTSD‘s Brevan Bane wrote about Rodgers last month: “This is a very welcome sign for Vikings fans, as cornerback has always been a need as long as they’ve been around. A trio of Byron Murphy Jr., Mekhi Blackmon, and Isaiah Rodgers can theoretically be a step up from the Murphy Jr., Gilmore, and Griffin trio from 2024.”
“This edition of the trio would be one with youth, and a high draft pick would be a welcome addition to the room as well to get even younger and make the unit’s upside even higher. If we’ve learned anything since Brian Flores has been here, it’s that we should probably trust him with his personnel, and Rodgers’ signing means no different.”
New Vikings Draftees
- Donovan Jackson (G | Ohio State | R1)
- Tai Felton (WR | Maryland | R3)
- Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins (DL | Georgia | R5)
- Kobe King (LB | Penn State | R6)
- Gavin Bartholomew (TE | Pittsburgh | R6)
Holsetring only four picks entering the draft, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah resisted the urge to trade down on draft night, selecting Donovan Jackson from Round 1, an Ohio State guard.
He added four men over the next two days, a promising haul for a man seeking to rectify his draft reputation.
Ingrams-Dawkins, the new lineman, is from the same town as former Vikings wideout Sidney Rice. He told Vikings.com: “Our families know each other and growing up, Sidney was a big name … was able to go to the Vikings and Seahawk and thrive. I have a close relationship with Sidney.”
“I’ve talked to him plenty of times, know him personally, so just to know he was a part of this organization with the Vikings has me even more pumped. It’s bigger than me; it’s for the city.”
New Vikings UDFAs
- Tyler Batty (OLB, BYU)
- Silas Bolden (WR, Texas)
- Max Brosmer (QB, Minnesota)
- Logan Brown (OL, Kansas)
- Chaz Chambliss (OLB, Georgia)
- Oscar Chapman (P, Auburn)
- Zeke Correll (OL, N.C. State)
- Dontae Fleming (WR, Tulane)
- Keenan Garber (CB, Kansas State)
- Joe Huber (OL, Wisconsin)
- Austin Keys (LB, Auburn)
- Robert Lewis (WR, Auburn)
- Dorian Mausi (LB, Auburn)
- Bryson Nesbit (TE, North Carolina)
- Mishael Powell (S, Miami)
- Myles Price (WR, Indiana)
- Tre Stewart (RB, Jacksonville State)
- Zemaiah Vaughn (CB, Utah)
- Alex Williams (DL, Middle Tennessee State)
- Ben Yurosek (TE, Georgia)
Another massive UDFA haul for Adofo-Mensah, fans have already plucked names from the list for big things down the road, including Batty, Bolden, Brown, Chamblis, Huber, and Yurosek.
Bleacher Report‘s Dame Parson wrote about Yurosek, a TE candidate: “Improving his power and technique as a run-blocker will help increase his value as more than a depth tight end. He does not have the body mass or power at the point of attack to drive defenders off the ball.”
“Yurosek projects as a backup/depth tight end with a solid athletic profile. He needs to improve his lower-body strength to increase his effectiveness as a run-blocker. He has a chance to become a TE3 at best for NFL offenses, but he may end up as more of an H-back/offset alignment player.”
Arrived Via Trade
- Sam Howell (QB)
- Jordan Mason (RB)
On a random March night, the Vikings traded a 6th-Round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for Mason, who instantly strutted into the Twin Cities as the new RB2. He’ll support Aaron Jones in 2025 and be the next man up if Jones misses any games.
During the draft, Adofo-Mensah agreed to a late-round pick swap for Howell, a player who threw for nearly 4,000 yards and posted 26 touchdowns as a starter in Washington two years ago.
Adofo-Mensah talked after the trade about meeting and scouting Howell before the 2022 NFL Draft: “You’ve got to meet the friends, you’ve got to meet the family, you’ve got to do all that, that sort of courtship. We say a lot that organizations fail quarterbacks long before quarterbacks fail organizations. And we didn’t want to be one of those.”
“But he was, from a pure talent standpoint, and all those other things we talked about, he was high up on our board. And sometimes it happens in life, and maybe a person you’re dating, it’s not the right time and place, but then, you know, later on in life, it happens at a better time.”
Two impactful veterans via trade for the Vikings.
Vikings Landed 2 “Draft Steals”
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