First Promising Vikings UDFA Shown the Door
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah delivered a tiny draft class in April because of various trades he had made over the years. Entering the event, he only had four draft choices, but he left with five players in addition to Sam Howell, who was acquired on day three. His annual undrafted rookie class was once again highly touted.
First Promising Vikings UDFA Shown the Door
A master at uncovering talented undrafted rookies, Adofo-Mensah found a few promising players in 2025, including offensive tackle Logan Brown, tight end Ben Yurosek, edge defender Tyler Batty, and passer Max Brosmer.
While the other three still have a chance to make the 53-man roster, Brown was shown the door on Sunday in the first wave of roster cuts. By Tuesday, 3 p.m., all teams have to reduce their roster size to 53 players.
Brown was a five-star college recruit in 2019. He was listed as 247Sports’ top offensive tackle in the country ahead of future NFL first-rounders Charles Cross, Evan Neal, and Darnell Wright, which shows his potential.
Yet, he went undrafted. Perhaps an issue from his college past hurt his stock.
Shortly after the draft, The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner noted: “Frankly, I was surprised to see Brown go undrafted. A 6-6, 311-pounder with near 34-inch arms and good explosion, Brown was a five-star recruit who transferred to Kansas in 2023 after Wisconsin dismissed him for reportedly striking another player during practice. He flashes NFL starter-level traits.”
Many people agreed. Brown possesses the ideal body composition to be a standout tackle, but his dismissal and transfer didn’t help him grow from a blocker standpoint. Despite all of that, he was ranked 143rd on Arif Hasan’s consensus big board and therefore should’ve been a fourth or fifth-round selection by the assessment of numerous draft analysts.
In the 2024 campaign, he allowed zero sacks in over 300 pass-blocking snaps.
PFF ranked him 150th in this draft class and wrote in his draft profile: “Brown looks and grades like the kind of offensive tackle worth taking a chance on. He has an ideal athletic build for the position with great height, weight and length, and flashes power on contact and fluid movement skills. However, his fundamentals remain a work in progress — he plays too high, lunges into blocks and can misread run fits. Still, those issues appear coachable, making him a developmental tackle with upside.”
Regardless of the hype, Brown couldn’t force his way onto Minnesota’s squad for the upcoming season. He was buried on the depth chart and failed to usurp sophomore Walter Rouse or veteran Justin Skule over the summer.
His preseason play was unremarkable, earning a subpar PFF grade of 47.4. Only Brett Rypien, Ty Chandler, and Silas Bolden received a worse grade among offensive players. Two of those guys were axed with Brown, and Chandler isn’t considered safe either. Brown mostly played right tackle but had 23 left tackle snaps mixed in.
The good news for Brown is that a player with his physical abilities should easily draw attention from other franchises around the league. Someone will either give him a shot on a 53-man roster or stash him on the practice squad and try to develop him for next season.
He joins Luiji Vilain and Andre Carter II on the list of highly-touted undrafted rookies that failed to stick around.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
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