Look, I don’t know if the Kendrick/Drake beef means we can’t use the Drake Meme anymore, but if so, excuse my ignorance when I post the following:
What can we say? The dude did it again. While Kwesi Adofo-Mensah gets some flak for his drafting, largely fueled by 2022’s disaster, he’s consistently found value on the undrafted free-agent (UDFA) market. The roster has representation from the UDFA classes of 2022 (Ryan Wright), 2023 (Ivan Pace, Jr.), and 2024 (Dwight McGlothern, Bo Richter). Heck, they had so much UDFA depth that they surprised some by cutting 2024 UDFA Gabriel Murphy after a strong preseason.
Even that stellar track record couldn’t quite prepare Minnesota Vikings fans for what we saw on their 53-man roster. With seven more UDFA players on their initial list, 20.8% of Minnesota’s roster consisted of undrafted players from the last four seasons. That’s pretty incredible.
The easy retort to make is that the drafts themselves haven’t been as productive, and that’s a fair enough point. Again, 2022 was a disaster, and losing Mekhi Blackmon to an ACL injury, leading to a trade earlier this week, makes 2023 look slim outside of Jordan Addison. However, we’ve yet to see meaningful action from J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner. Still, aside from the tragic passing of Khyree Jackson, the 2024 draft class remains on the roster after two training camps.
But, even conceding that the Vikings have needed the UDFA market to fill in gaps that their drafts haven’t, there’s no denying that they’ve found value. Part of it is their willingness to outspend teams for the elite (picked-over) talent, and some is due to sheer quantity. When you bring in 60 or so players over a four-year span, you’re going to hit on someone.
Still, that willingness to scout and spend on players who go undrafted is a significant value add for Adofo-Mensah and Minnesota’s front office, and it has been to their advantage. Finding a full-time player like Pace alone makes the bets that didn’t work out worth it, and there’s reason to be optimistic with McGlothern and Richter. Better yet, the returns on those investments might improve significantly, soon.
Max Brosmer Mania has hit Minnesota in ways not seen since, well, his standout performance last season. The Vikings were wise to acquire a high-floor veteran backup quarterback in Carson Wentz. Still, Brosmer’s smarts, timing, and comfort with Kevin O’Connell‘s offense make him a good bet to be a long-term backup quarterback to McCarthy starting in 2026. That alone would make the 2025 UDFA class stellar.
But, wait, there’s a lot more! Despite 2025 being the Year of the Interior Linemen, 6’5″ Joe Huber fell through the draft entirely, then balled out for the Vikings in preseason. He finished just behind top free agent Trey Smith to be the fifth-highest-graded run blocker among guards this preseason (Obligatory mention of “It’s preseason,” and also, Ed Ingram was somehow third).
Minnesota made significant investments into their interior O-line with free agent Will Fries and first-round pick Donovan Jackson, but finding Huber as a diamond in the rough gives the team a lot of insurance. Blake Brandel has been serviceable and may still be the next man up should Fries get injured or Jackson underperform.
However, the Vikings didn’t bring in Fries or Jackson to be serviceable. They were here to maul defenders in a way that Brandel couldn’t. If Huber’s elite preseason means he can do something similar in real NFL games, playing him over Brandel could help the team’s run game not skip a beat in an emergency.
While Brosmer and Huber are set to back up in ideal circumstances, Myles Price can take on a substantial role immediately. Every day that the Vikings go without acquiring a special teams returner brings Price closer to returning kicks in Week 1. And why not? When his hands are sure, he has the burst and agility to make defenders miss and get upfield. That checks a lot of boxes that are often overlooked when considering their other options.
Those three are the headliners, but the fact that Elijah Williams and Chaz Chambliss made the roster over Murphy following his strong showing should say something, even if it’s unlikely they’ll crack the defense this season. Tight end Ben Yurosek flashed as a run blocker, and Austin Keys graded well as a linebacker in coverage. Whatever flaws caused them to go undrafted, the Vikings have identified ways in which each player can make a valuable contribution.
As always, there’s an attrition rate in the NFL with prospects, and UDFA players are definitely no exception. The idea that all seven, or even four or five of these players, will stay on the roster through next season is a big stretch. But all Adofo-Mensah needs to do is turn one or two of them into decent regulars or high-quality backups to have another stellar UDFA class. The fact that he has seven balls in the air from 2025 should speak well of his odds for accomplishing that task.