Vikings

REPORT: Minnesota Vikings Agree to Terms with 13 Undrafted Free Agent Rookies

The Minnesota Vikings hannounced that they have agreed to terms with 13 undrafted free agent rookies.

Undrafted free agents can provide a solid backbone for a team and for successful teams like the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots are famously core starters. The Vikings had their own set of starting UDFAs last year, like Adam Thielen, Alex Boone, Andrew Sendejo, Tom Johnson and Jeremiah Sirles. Next year, we may see Mike Remmers and Anthony Harris push for starting positions, too.

One should also remember that the Vikings will often cut one of their contracted undrafted free agents with a player in rookie minicamp tryouts — Thielen is one such example, as he didn’t earn a contract out of the gate and had to survive the tryout process. Isaac Fruechte and Chrishon Rose did the same in 2015, and C.J. Ham was the tryout signee in 2016.

The current contracted UDFAs are listed below, with short blurbs from various third-party scouting groups and their ranks on the Consensus Big Board:

Tashawn Bower, DE, LSU – Ranked 271

The Minnesota Vikings valued Tashawn Bower quite a bit and offered him a very high $15,000 bonus as well as guaranteeing $30,000 of his salary. Here’s what Nolan Nawrocki had to say about him in his draft guide:

STRENGTHS: Functional size and strength with good arm length/ Very good weight-room worker. Plays hard and competes. Chases hard and pursues to ball. Very determined achiever. The game is important to him.

WEAKNESSES: Limited athlete. Extremely tight-hipped and plays too tall with limited knee bend. Was the only defensive linemen to measure a single-digit (6%) body-fat percentage at the Combine and appears overly lean and muscular for the position and more prone to injury, with very marginal hip flexibility or armor to help protect from injury. Was never a full-time starter. Marginal career sack production (5 1/2 sacks) Appeared too stiff in LB drills at the Combine to play on his feet.

FUTURE: Stiff base end who filled an early-down, run-plugging tole in seven career starts and lacks flexibility and bend to be cut loose to rush the passer. Appears to be more of a body-builder than football player. Teased scouts with three-sack performance in the Citrus Bowl against Louisville in his final game and has the work ethic and love o the game for a patient, veteran coaching staff to attempt bringing along slowly on a practice squad for a role as a base left end.

I’m not sure “too rocked up” is a huge negative, but if it is, it is not too difficult to resolve.

Aviante Collins, T, TCU – Ranked 241

Collins is the other star of the UDFA class and is the highest-ranked of the Vikings’ undrafted free agents on the consensus big board. Here’s what Nawrocki had to say about him:

STRENGTHS: Very fluid movement skills, excellent feet, short-area burst and athletic ability for a 300-pounder. Recorded a Combine-best 4.81-second 40-yard time, best among offensive tackles and revealing outstanding long speed to climb tot he second and third levels and run the field, Good balance, body control and recovery quickness — seldom on the ground. Locks on in pass protection and finishes (see Arkansas), flashing a mean streak. Bench-pressed 225 pounds 34 times at the Combine, tying for the most among tackles a the event. Versatile and has played four line positions (all but center).

WEAKNESSES: Has very small hands and short arms and can be too grabby when defenders gain an edge. More of a grabber than a puncher and needs to learn to keep his hands inside and bring his feet with him. Has a linear build and narrow waist lacking bulk and can be inverted by power. Tends to set tall and play too upright. Could stand to do a better job sustaining blocks and cut down on holding penalties.

FUTURE: Underpowered, developmental zone-blocker with rare foot speed more ideally suited for the left side than the right where he spent most of his college career. Most of his flaws are correctable and has a lot of upside to be groomed as a swing tackle in a zone-blocking scheme with eventual starter potential. A poor man’s version of Saints’ 2013 second-round pick Terron Armstead, Collins should be able to start Year Two with continued physical development, though narrow bone structure could challenge him to stay healthy.

He didn’t do the full gamut of workouts at the combine and his agility drills are a bit below average for his position, especially after accounting for his weight.

Josiah Price, TE, Michigan State – Ranked 392

Josiah Price is one of the last UDFAs the Vikings signed to rank in the Consensus top 400, and doesn’t have many scouting reports available online or in draft guides. Price has one of the lowest drop rates of any receiving tight ends in the FBS, according to Pro Football Focus, right next to O.J. Howard at 5.0 percent. We do have this small report from Dane Brugler, a scout with CBS and NFLDraftScout.com:

SUMMARY: A former three-star recruit, Price was courted by several MAC and Big Ten programs, committing to Michigan State. He was a steady performer the past four seasons, mostly as a blocker, but also as the occasional receiver, posting career-bests as a senior with 38 catches for 387 yards. Price leaves East Lansing as the school’s all-time leader among tight ends with 21 touchdowns. He has the build and body strength to match-up physically inline as a blocker, using his hands and technique to aid his brute power. Price shows fight and toughness after the catch, but moves at only one speed and is late to uncover, showing very little deception as a route runner. A high character individual, he is known for his intelligence on and off the field, studying more film than the average college player. While he does enough as a blocker to get into a NFL training camp, Price doesn’t have the athletic burst to create and the only separation he receives is what the defense gives him.

Eric Wilson, LB, Cincinnati – Ranked 398

The final player to be in the Consensus board’s top 400, Eric Wilson was generally well-regarded. Here’s what Brugler had to say about him:

SUMMARY: A former three-star recruit, Wilson started his career at Northwestern before deciding to transfer to Cincinnati in search of more playing time. After sitting out the 2013 season and spending 2014 as a reserve, he became the starting WILL linebacker in 2015 and led the Bearcats in tackles his junior and senior seasons, posting 100+ tackles and earning All-AAC honors both years. Wilson is a magnet to the football with efficient lateral quicks to mirror the run at the line of scrimmage. He doesn’t hesitate downhill, but is hyper-focused on the ball and late to locate blockers through his peripherals, getting popped backwards. Wilson displays lower body explosion in his tackles attempts, but his stiff hips encumber his ability to redirect, break down and finish tackles in the open field. Overall, Wilson plays much more aggressive than he looks with the play speed to cover a lot of green, but he is undeveloped in coverage and struggles to keep blockers off his frame.

Wilson ranked in the middle of the pack in Pro Football Focus’ pass-rush productivity metric for blitzing linebackers, and was fairly low-ranked in run stop rate (6.9 percent), but was an efficient tackler, not missing many (one for every 14.9 tackle attempts, with only two drafted linebackers above him).

Dylan Bradley, DT, Southern Mississippi – Ranked 470

Dylan Bradley was one of the better pass-rushing defensive tackles in the FBS, and Pro Football Focus gave him a pass-rushing productivity rating of 8.9, which is the same rate as third-overall pick Solomon Thomas. Excluding hybrid end-tackles like Thomas and Jonathan Allen, Bradley ranked seventh in pass-rush productivity among defensive tackles (with Jaleel Johnson ranking fourth). The biggest difficulty with projecting Bradley is that many thought he would be converted to defensive end, and the Vikings list him here as a defensive tackle. Here’s PFF’s scouting report:

Bottom line: At only 265 pounds, Bradley is too small to play inside at defensive tackle in the NFL even though he often lined up there in college. Oddly he had his best success lined up at zero technique nose tackle but he won’t be able to play there in the NFL as he would be the league’s smallest nose tackle by a wide margin. Much of Bradley’s college production came from just being quicker than other linemen because he weighs 265 pounds. NFL production will not come in the same fashion so he will have to produce in entirely different way than he has been asked to in the past. He will be forced to make the switch from defensive tackle to defensive end at the NFL level. Bradley can win with quickness or with power when he is lined up inside but his best fit is to provide rotational snaps at defensive end.

Wes Lunt, QB, Illinois – Ranked 422

Undrafted free agent quarterbacks are rarely good, and there’s a good chance that Taylor Heinicke is a great deal better than any UDFA quarterback in this year’s class just by virtue of sticking onto a roster for several years and looking solid in the preseason. With that in mind, Lunt is a pretty good UDFA quarterback to pick up. Scouts liked him enough that Bob McGinn at the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel made mention of him. Good in the context of an undrafted free agent in this quarterback class still leaves a lot of room for improvement, however. He’s Kyle Crabbs’ report from NDT Scouting:

Lunt, a transfer from Oklahoma State, has played the past 3 seasons with the Illini and started in stretches of each year. Lunt has the physical build one looks for at the Quarterback position, he’s slapped together well and has the frame to sustain hits on the NFL level. Unfortunately his list of desirables is short thereafter; Lunt’s biggest hurdles to being a more successful player and a higher rated prospect lie on the mental side of the game. Lunt consistently looks overwhelmed at the top of his drops; he sees ghosts in the pocket and will allow his fundamentals to collapse in an effort to get the ball out of his hand. Lunt has mishaps in reading coverages on a weekly basis, yet his accuracy is not consistent enough to allow either his receivers of defenders a chance to get their hands on the ball to make a play. Lunt should be regarded as a camp body at this point in time.

R.J. Shelton, WR, Michigan State – Ranked 488

R.J. Shelton is a smaller, reliable receiver for Michigan State whose best opportunity to make a team seems to come from his reliable hands. With a drop rate of only 3.64 percent (via PFF), Shelton might evolve into a security blanket for any quarterback looking to dump the ball off. Here’s what scouts said of Shelton to McGinn:

Teammates voted him MVP last season. “Good football player on a bad team,” one scout said. “Not fast, but one of the more consistent players I did this year. Same guy every game, the all-star game and pro day. Quicker than fast. Really good route runner. Tough guy. He’s a great middle-round pick.” Returned kickoffs all four seasons, averaging 23.2. Caught 116 passes for 1,471 (12.7) and 11 TDs. Rushed 84 times for 549 (6.6) and four TDs. Vertical jump of 32, broad jump of 9-1 and 17 reps on the bench. Small hands (9).

Terrell Newby, RB, Nebraska – Ranked 518

Newby is a fun running back to watch with excellent balance and surprising power for his size. He’s not an athletic standout, but he has the speed to get to the edge and outrun most linebackers, but not defensive backs. Newby doesn’t have a string of athletic jukes on his highlight reel and occasionally has issues demonstrating elusiveness to break tackles, but does a fine job gaining yards in the open field. He makes the correct decisions with good vision and doesn’t have a habit of bouncing things to the outside when the blocking gets messy.

For the most part, it feels like he plays like a bigger back inside a smaller back’s body which can be both good or bad—he’s not a scatback type weapon that threatens through the air or speeds away in space, but he also doesn’t panic and powers through tacklers. It should be interesting to see if the Vikings can turn him into a receiving threat.

Shaan Washington, LB, Texas A&M – Ranked 580 (tied)

Shaan Washington’s scouting report is very similar to Kentrell Brothers — a run-stuffing linebacker at the college level whose size may prevent them from replicating that role in the NFL. Here’s what draft analyst Tony Pauline had to say about him:

Pos:  Hard-working but smallish two-down linebacker. Instinctive, effectively reads and diagnoses the action and sells out to make plays. Slides off blocks getting to the ball carrier, sells out on the blitz and plays to the whistle. Remains disciplined with assignments.

Neg:  Lacks lateral speed and proved ineffective in pursuit. Struggles taking on blocks and easily gets disrupted from the action. Average pass rusher.

Analysis: Washington was a rough-and-tumble college linebacker who comes with physical limitations. He could back up on the inside of a 3-4 alignment if he plays well on special teams.

Caleb Kidder, DE, Montana – Ranked 636 (tied)

The Vikings will often target pass rushers with excellent three-cone times. The slowest time among any Vikings edge defender drafted in the past ten years in the three-cone was Everson Griffen’s 7.25 seconds, with the fastest coming from Brian Robison (6.89). The average time for an edge defender over the past ten years has been 7.25 seconds.

Kidder has a three-cone time of 6.91 seconds, fitting the trend. His other athletic measurables are not great, but it does fit the profile. Here’s Pauline’s take:

Pos:  Explosive defensive lineman with an underrated game. Fires off the snap with a quick first step, breaks down well and effectively uses his hands to protect himself. Bends off the edge, slides down the line of scrimmage and gives effort working to make plays. Sells out or flies around the action, uses his hands to protect himself and pursues ball handlers with speed. Occasionally stands up over tackle and effectively gets up the field to disrupt the action.

Neg:  Despite his 40 time possesses an average closing burst. Will struggle defending the run at the next level.

Analysis:  Kidder is an athletic defensive line prospect who plays with a special-teams mentality. He has all the underlying ability to make an active roster as a designated pass rusher and special-teams player.

Nick Fett, T, Iowa State – Ranked 646 (tied)

Fett has an average pass-blocking efficiency among FBS offensive tackles. A former walk-on at Iowa State, his consideration as an NFL lineman is an impressive accomplishment. I couldn’t find many scouting reports online about him, so I watched his game against Iowa (and Jaleel Johnson). In that game, he played guard and that might be his NFL role.

Fett struck me as a strong player who needs significant help with footwork and doesn’t have the overall athleticism to be a consistent pulling guard. His issues getting the second level affirm that problem, though much of that has to do with his aiming issues.  Fett gets out of his stance a little late and too tall at times, and though his strength often made up for it likely will translate to problems in the NFL.

The Iowa State alum has great awareness for stunts and blitz pickups and for all of his faults didn’t give up too many pressures, so he might be a priority free agent.

Sam McCaskill, DE, Boise State – Ranked 646 (tied)

The same is not true of Sam McCaskill, whose measurables aren’t great but whose production at a Power 5 level of competition is at least a little bit better—6.5 sacks vs. Kidder’s 5.5 in the FCS. There aren’t many scouting reports of McCaskill out there, so he’s an open-ended book that will be fun to watch blossom in training camp.

Horace Richardson, CB, SMU – Ranked 646 (tied)

A speedy receiver without much flexibility, Richardson was also a priority for the Vikings. His injury history (two back-to-back ACL tears) might be a reason to be wary, but he did generate 14 pass breakups and six interceptions. He ended up as the 22nd-ranked cornerback in Bleacher Reports’ CFB150 series.

Last season, SMU sported the fourth-worst opponent quarterback rating. Largely thanks to Horace Richardson, the Mustangs surged to 56th nationally in 2016. The 6’0″, 201-pounder could get shaken after the catch, but he didn’t give up many receptions and made several big plays. Just three cornerbacks had more interceptions than Richardson’s six.

 

Vikings
There’s Joy To Be Found In This Tumultuous Transition Period In Vikings History
By Tyler Haag - Mar 28, 2024
Vikings
Harrison Smith Has Become Minnesota’s Lone Survivor
By Kaleb Medhanie - Mar 27, 2024
Vikings

Andrew Van Ginkel Brings Versatility and Energy To Minnesota's Defense

When the NFL’s 2024 free-agency window opened, the Minnesota Vikings quickly attacked the defensive side of the ball, adding a trio of players, including Andrew Van Ginkel. […]

Continue Reading