Rookie Punter Option for Vikings Could Be a … 2nd-Rounder?
If you’ve been scoping punters for the Minnesota Vikings in the upcoming draft, the best one might fly off the board in Round 2. He’s Brett Thorson, and there’s a wild new theory about his draft stock.
Minnesota could use draft capital on a punter if Thorson keeps climbing boards this spring.
The Vikings almost certainly won’t use a 2nd-Rounder on a punter, but the idea is out in the rumor mill as of this week for Thorson.
Thorson Could Become an Option for Minnesota — But Not in Round 2
A 2nd-Rounder on a punter is wild.
Report: Teams Could Spend Day 2 Pick on Thorson
Get familiar with the name Brett Thorson because his draft placement could blow your socks off.
NFL insider Jason La Canfora quoted an anonymous personnel executive this week: “I don’t know that you can justify taking a punter above the third round, but if that’s the threshold then he meets it. Maybe he even goes late second round.”
“He has elite hang time and distance, and a lot of special teams coaches now seem to be getting more into that and not as much solely looking for the directional stuff… And he can do that too.”
Another source told La Canfora: “It’s crazy to talk this way about a punter, but the Georgia kid might be kind of special. If you really need a punter, and you have a coach who wants to be able to flip the field, there’s value to having a great punter.”
La Canfora added personally, “Thorson is a native of Australia with a tough-minded mentality and a willingness to throw his body into traffic to make a tackle.”
“It can, and has, led to injuries, but teams who have met with him love him and his metrics are off the charts and if nothing else there is a strong sense among teams I spoke to that he will be selected somewhere on the second day of the draft (second and third round).”
Thorson is evidently a true weapon.
Precedent for Round 4 — but Not Round 2
In the last half-decade, the Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have drafted punters in Round 4, picks that drew scorn from the general public because most specialists can be plucked from later rounds or undrafted free agency.
Taking Thorson in Round 2 — or even Round 3 — would take the cake. And yes — even the men drafted in Round 4 recently were advertised as game-changers, just like Thorson.
Short and simple: drafting punters anywhere in Round 2 or Round 3 is lousy business. It’s an example of a general manager getting carried away or getting too cute.
Thorson’s Scouting Report
The Australian is 6’1″ and 240 pounds. The only knock on him might be a lack of experience in poor weather; they don’t really have that in Australia or at the University of Georgia.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein on Thorson: “Australian punter with adequate drive power and above-average hang time. Thorson gets good leg extension and has the ability to generate consistent lift, allowing the cover team to swarm when punts are returnable. He displayed vast improvement in touch with his coffin-corner kicks in 2025 and checks the boxes to be a Day 3 pick.”
SI.com‘s Ethan Hurwitz on the Georgia punter: “The winner of the Ray Guy Award (given to the nation’s best punter) in 2025, and a finalist of the award one year prior, the two-time All-American was invited to the NFL Combine this past offseason and wowed teams with his strong leg. The Australia native regularly pins teams inside their own 10-yard line and can change the game with one swing of his right leg.”
“In his college career, Thorson punted the ball 156 times for 7,115 yards. His longest punt went 75 yards and he averaged 45.6 yards per punt. Though he’s still adjusting the NFL-sized fields coming from Australia, he’s continued to get better through the draft process, which included a stop at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.”
Vikings Have Johnny Hekker
Moreover, the Vikings have a new punter; his name is Johnny Hekker. Once upon a time, Hekker was the best punter in football, claiming six All-Pros, four Pro Bowls, and a Super Bowl to his name. But that was then, and this is now.
Hekker represented an average punter by the numbers in 2025, and if he takes off in the Twin Cities, it will require a turn back of the clock.
It’s also worth noting that Hekker’s contractual structure puts him in line to be the primary punter next season. Minnesota would have to swallow a bit of dead cap if it drafted Thorson and cut Hekker. Teams don’t typically keep two punters.
Thorson might be an option for the Vikings, but if he’s truly a 2nd-Rounder, you can rule him out.
Minnesota’s punter from the last four years, Ryan Wright, left the Vikings in free agency for a large contract with the New Orleans Saints.
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