Special Teamers Grab 2 Thrilling Honors for Vikings
When it comes to NFL special teams units, the Minnesota Vikings were among the best in the 2025-26 season. What do I mean by that?
Well, the recent nominations and official votes have been tallied for the All-Pro awards season, which is coming out. It might not be much of a consolation prize, at least compared to missing out on the Pro Bowl. But, as the boss, Dustin Baker, notes, nine Vikings scored a plethora of votes.
These Vikings Earned Special Teams All-Pro Recognition
But the big news of the day? Two special teams members made the All-Pro teams. As the Minnesota Vikings team website notes, kicker Will Reichard scored first-team All-Pro honors, while long snapper Andrew DePaola was voted to the second team.
So, how are these guys so dependable? Let’s take a deeper look at the wins.
While stats may not be listed for long snappers, DePaola is becoming a regular on the All-Pro squads. This year marks the fourth straight season that the now 11-year veteran has made an All-Pro team, after earning first-team honors in 2022 and 2024, and second-team honors in 2023. A captain for back-to-back seasons, the 38-year-old DePaola has become a mainstay on special teams for the Vikings since joining the squad in 2020.
More than half of the Rutgers product’s seasons have been spent with the purple and gold, as he just completed his 11th season in the NFL.
Will Reichard Breaks Out in Year 2
After a modest rookie campaign in 2024, Will Reichard broke out as a major special teams star in 2025. The Alabama product missed only two of his 35 field goal attempts and was perfect on all 31 of his extra point tries.
Not only that, but Reichard also set a new franchise record this past season, making 11 of his 13 attempts from 50 yards or longer, which pushed him past Blair Walsh’s mark of 10 such accomplishments during the 2012 season. And he is deserving of his nickname, Will the Thrill, and his special teams coordinator has nothing but high praise for him.
As STC Matt Daniels noted to Rob Kleifield and Lindsay Young of Vikings.com, “I think the — not really unfortunate part — but we really haven’t had those ice-in-the-veins kind of walk-off winning field goals yet in his career. But in moments when we needed him the most, whether it’s to go up by three with two minutes left in the game, and the defense has got to get a stop, or it’s to put ourselves in a position to basically go up another possession … he’s been able to do that and capitalize on those big moments.”
Other Notable Statistics
Reichard is also in good company among his age group in special teams. After celebrating his 25th birthday last Friday, the second-year man became the youngest first-team All-Pro kicker since Jason Sanders of the Miami Dolphins accomplished the feat at 25 years of age in 2020.
And he is also one of 12 kickers under 25 to earn first-team All-Pro special teams honors. Not only that, but he also joins the aforementioned Walsh (2012) and Gary Anderson (1998) as the only Minnesota kickers to take home first-team awards.
And from one special teams member to another, the connection is already strong between the All-Pros.
As DePaola said of Reichard, “Seeing Will become who we all knew he was going to be, which is one of the best kickers in the NFL, was really special for me.”
Final Thoughts
So, as noted, it was a spectacular season for the Minnesota Vikings’ special teams unit. While they are certainly not at fault for the team missing the playoffs, they have plenty of momentum to build upon for the 2026 season. Who knows which way they will go from here? But there’s plenty to like about this unit.
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