Vikings Links:  Minicamp Is Underway!

Minicamp is going and I do not know if there any televised portions but there are ways to see some of it …

To watch the Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 rookie minicamp, you can follow the team’s social media channels and watch highlights on their website and YouTube channel. The Vikings will also share content from the NFL Network, NFL+, and NFL Channel, according to their website. You can also find highlights and news coverage on Twitter/X from Vikings media members, says a YouTube video.

https://www.vikings.com/video/2025-rookie-minicamp-practice-highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFoHL8N2Zhc

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Minnesota Vikings News and Links

Three storylines to follow at Vikings rookie minicamp this weekend

Will QB1 be there?

First-year players aren’t the only ones who are able to take the field during rookie minicamp. Returning second-year players who weren’t credited with a full season in the previous year are also eligible. Thus, that could potentially include Vikings starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy, whose rookie year ended before it could begin due to a torn meniscus. Ben Goessling of The Star Tribune speculated about that possibility in a segment with KFAN’s Paul Allen earlier this week.

McCarthy has been on the practice field this week with the rest of his teammates to begin phase two of the Vikings’ offseason program. That includes taking plenty of snaps from starting center Ryan Kelly, Kevin O’Connell said on Wednesday.

Which UDFAs will stand out?

O’Connell called Brosmer “a really intriguing undrafted guy” in a recent interview with Rich Eisen.

Will any tryout players make the team?

The Vikings have a couple notable names attending this weekend’s camp. One is Maine WR Montigo Moss, the youngest son of one of the greatest players in franchise (and NFL) history. Another is Nebraska CB Tommi Hill, who drew praise from Travis Hunter last year and was a projected Day 3 pick in the draft.

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J.J. McCarthy not among 51 participants at Vikings rookie minicamp

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3 Observations: 2025 Vikings Rookie Minicamp

Prior to hitting the field in practice jerseys, shorts and helmets, the group heard from Head Coach Kevin O’Connell, a third-round pick of the Patriots in 2008. He wanted the group to appreciate how far each player has made it so far and encourage them.

“I always congratulate them. I want to honor the fact that these guys are going to be wearing Minnesota Vikings helmets and NFL uniforms,” O’Connell said.

The fourth-year coach said he asks the players to think back to a high school, junior high or youth league championship, pointing out how few people progress to this level of football.

“It’s something these guys have been working their whole lives for,” O’Connell said. “But at the same time, two things: it’s just football, and your real journey is actually just beginning. And then I get into a lot of the stories of C.J. Ham or Ivan Pace, or Gabe Murphy, or Bo Richter.

“I think it hits home when you show them a clip of Ivan Pace making an interception at rookie minicamp, and then picking a ball off to seal an explosive 3-nothing win in Vegas a few years ago,” said O’Connell, quipping that he tried to hide the score on the clip he showed the group.

“I want those guys to know that it matters to me, matters to our coaches,” O’Connell added. “They’re going to get the best of what we’ve got to coach them up this weekend, and then we’ll let the chips fall where they may, but don’t have a fear-based outcome of ‘If I don’t do this, then my career is going to be over. I better not drop the ball, or I better not throw an interception.’ That’s not what this weekend is for. Hopefully we can evaluate a little stronger than that to be able to project what these guys can hopefully become.”

1. Familiar faces from a Max to a Moss

This year’s gathering had a couple of interesting connections, including quarterback Max Brosmer, who suited up last fall for the Golden Gophers and joined Minnesota as an undrafted free agent.

O’Connell noted he had observed Brosmer during 2024 and 2025 Minnesota Pro Day workouts and liked several of the mechanics Brosmer implemented with his throws. The coach also appreciated that Brosmer, who had participated in limited meetings was able to make some adjustments on the fly in 7-on-7 activity.

2. Intended and INT pass catchers

Third-round pick Tai Felton showed elements of his game that piqued Minnesota’s interest, even if the action was limited to individual receiver drills and 7-on-7 work.

Felton showed a smooth body control that accompanies his high-speed potential (he was previously clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.37 seconds) and natural catch ability. He calmly throttled down for an adjustment on one pass and accelerated into another.

Undrafted rookie receiver Silas Bolden showed good strength at the catch point on a pass across the middle. His feet got a little tangled going into the football, but he secured the catch and held on as he toppled.

3. That o-line life

First-round pick Donovan Jackson seemed to live that o-line life of relative anonymity. O’Connell opts to not have rookie minicamps include full-team action out of a spirit of wanting to take care of the players, prevent injuries and have the rookies ready to join the veterans next week.

Jackson and other linemen worked through drills that emphasized hand placement, movement and footwork in what O’Connell jokingly called the “Chris Kuper and Keith Carter Invitational.”

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Kobe King’s Vikings Practice Debut Includes INT & Extra Work

For an hour-and-a-half, the group shuffled through all kinds of positional drills and competed in a 7-on-7 session that pitted quarterbacks and offensive skill players against linebackers, cornerbacks and safeties.

In one sequence, and right after UDFA cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn got his hands on the football, King intercepted a short pass in the hook/curl zone and trotted the other way for his first practice pick six.

It was a welcome sign for a player who prides himself on thwarting the run and is keenly aware he can dial more into his pass assignments. The successful snap, also, didn’t stop King, who realized his NFL dream almost exactly two weeks ago, from doing more.

The sturdy 6-foot-1, 236-pound linebacker pushed his conditioning at the end of practice, getting in additional sprints while some retreated to air conditioning, and thus standing out as an E.W.G. (Extra-Work Guy).

In a chat afterwards with local media, King downplayed his whirlwind of events since getting “the call.”

“I’ve been embracing the process, trusting in my building, my training, you know, it’s a process,” King remarked. “But it ain’t been as rocky as people would expect. It’s been a smooth process for me, really.”

King didn’t seem to be kidding, nor did his fitting in on the field signal an impression of being overwhelmed.

Over two on-field sessions and numerous meetings that make up rookie minicamp, King has a goal to gain trust, something that Minnesota demonstrated it has in him by drafting him – but he wants to grow.

“[My goal is] to go out there, show my teammates and the club that they can trust me, that they can have confidence in me, and just, you know, evolve my pass-game effectiveness,” he said. “I’m very effective in both aspects of the game, but, you know, there’s still areas to improve.

“But I’m a dominant player,” King added, noting his attitude matches his play. “I approach the game the right way. My demeanor is the right way. And when it’s time to be counted on, guys can count on me.”

After the draft, Adofo-Mensah simplified the pick of King: “A lot of times in football we make it harder than it is,” he said, “but it’s a meat-and-potatoes game in some positions, and linebacker is one of them.

“He’s a really physical, knock-back, impact tackler, and we’re excited to add him,” Adofo-Mensah continued, “not just to our fourth-down units but potentially to be a starter one day in this league.”

King said of his mentality: “It looks like hunger. It looks like anger. It looks like the eye of the tiger when you line up against me. It looks like I’m vicious out there. … Sometimes, I take it as disrespect when guys do run the ball my way or when they do pass my way. But when they do, I make an impact on it.”

At Penn State, King’s instincts and downhill compass resulted in 200 tackles (113 solo), 19 for a loss and 4.5 sacks. In Minnesota, he’s off to a good start with coaches and can’t wait to glean their knowledge.

“Man, I feel like they like me, I like them. We’re gonna continue to build that relationship. And you know,” said King before pausing for emphasis and ripping a big smirk, “I’m a Viking now. That’s really it.”

If King’s dominant mindset or E.W.G. habits after his first practice are any indication, there’s tremendous potential for the former Nittany Lion-backer to become the most well-rounded version of himself, yet.

“I made a good play out there,” King reflected on his pick, “but [there] was still some room for me to grow within that play, within that drive; made some mistakes, got past it, grew on it, and learned. So, about to go in and attack the meetings, correct things I need to correct, and come out better tomorrow.”

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Former Gopher Max Brosmer makes strong impression at Vikings rookie camp

Brosmer got up-close-and-personal coaching from O’Connell and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown throughout the day. After many plays, they would watch the video board replaying the rep and then talk about how things were supposed to play out, whether it was a deep completion to former Auburn receiver Robert Lewis or an interception by sixth-round linebacker Kobe King.

“I really enjoyed the talks after every play today,” Brosmer said. “Every time we had a positive play or a negative play, it was always like, ‘hey, let’s talk about it for a second.’ I didn’t realize there are screens out here that replay the play right away because I’m always like, ‘let’s go back to the film room and watch it.’ I get to watch it in real time. That’s a lot of fun especially having someone like KO and coach McCown and [assistant QBs coach Jordan Traylor] talking about the play right after it happens with a new install that we’re doing together. That’s super helpful.”

Brosmer has been on O’Connell’s radar since this time last year. At the 2024 version of Gopher pro day, he had just arrived with the team and they asked if he would be willing to throw to wide receivers at tight ends at the pro day. O’Connell took notice of his arm talent then and watched the Gophers throughout the season before getting another opportunity to study Brosmer again at this year’s pro day.

“He got a chance to throw last year and caught my eye then,” O’Connell said. “Anytime that the Gophers were on TV and I could see it, just watching a lot of the things. And then we spent some time with their coaching staff…sharing ideas and how we do things and some of the ways we teach things, and so there’s some good carryover for things that he’s done during his time with the Gophers. But anytime that I get to a pro day of the same guy two years in a row… I felt pretty good about Max as a thrower when we were able to get him here.”

“I’m like, ‘I’ve gotta buckle in because I’m projected toward the back of the draft,’” Brosmer said. “Going undrafted and coming here, things are supposed to happen for a reason. Coming out of high school I went to New Hampshire a reason and I learned what the reason was through my years there, went to Minnesota and it happened for a reason and now I come back to Minnesota to start my professional career. I’m always looking for the reason that I’m here and the people here are absolutely incredible and I can’t wait to find out what my journey looks like along my path here.”

“Going to play in the Big Ten was a huge help for me, just feeling the energy of a 60,000-person crowd or a 112,000-person crowd and feeling what big-time football feels like and now that I’m at the professional level it’s only going to get to a larger scale from there,” Brosmer said. “There is going to be an adjustment period for everybody here but I think that jump gets a little bit smaller when you play at a higher level.”

“If you do too much and be out of your mind and try to control too much, you get ahead of yourself,” he said. “Letting things happen and they happen for a reason. Whether that’s getting drafted in the third round or getting drafted in the seventh round or going undrafted, there’s a reason that I’m here.”

“I think he had a great first day,” O’Connell said. “Pretty efficient, solid first day, looked like football. That’s always the starting point goal.”

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Kevin O’Connell on Former Gophers QB Max Brosmer, Vikings Tight Ends & Rookie Minicamp Opportunity

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell described Brosmer as a “pretty efficient thrower.”

“From the standpoint of fundamentals, techniques, his ability to generate some pretty good revolutions and RPMs on the ball with pretty limited movement in the pocket,” O’Connell told Twin Cities media members. “From a standpoint of his high football I.Q., I think it shows up when he can really arrive here, spend a couple hours in meetings, and he’s out there making corrections in the middle of a 7-on-7 walk-through.

“We’re already seeing a lot of things that we really identified in Max to bring him into a quarterbacks room that we’re really excited about, and I think he had a great first day,” he added.

“He got a chance to throw last year and caught my eye then,” O’Connell said. “Anytime that I get to a Pro Day, the same guy two years in a row … I felt pretty good about Max as a thrower.”

Brosmer made several completions throughout the practice — including to tryout Montigo Moss, the son of Vikings Ring of Honor and Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss and Brosmer’s former Coastal Athletic Association conference rival.

“I saw him yesterday during check-in and had make sure I gave him a couple jabs for playing at Maine,” Brosmer quipped. “[We were] 3-0 against the Maine Black Bears; he knew who I was when I walked up and was like, ‘I can’t really say much.’ We have fun with that, and I’m so glad there’s two CAA guys here.”

O’Connell also appreciates giving Moss a chance during rookie minicamp, for a different reason: he and Randy Moss teamed together in New England.

“Hopefully it’s an exciting thing for him and he feels like he can come here and compete and learn — and be around one of the best receiver coaches in the NFL (Keenan McCardell) and see what happens,” O’Connell said. “But no question, that was an awesome thing to see, [him wearing] a Vikings helmet and knowing my personal history with his dad.”

Here are three other takeaways from O’Connell’s conference:

1. Providing opportunity

O’Connell said he’s already talked to the group and pointed to examples like Bo Richter, Gabriel Murphy and Ivan Pace, Jr., all of whom have made the active roster under O’Connell after joining the Vikings as undrafted rookies.

“And then we’ve got even greater stories of guys like C.J. Ham coming in as a tryout and obviously now being one of our captains and foundational guys,” O’Connell said. “So, it’s a special, special weekend kicking off.

“I think it hits home when you show them a clip of Ivan Pace making an interception at rookie minicamp and then picking a ball off to seal an explosive 3-0 win in Vegas a few years ago,” he said. “I tried to hide the score when I showed that clip today, but [this weekend] matters, and I want those guys to know that to matters to me, matters to our coaches.”

2. Goals for Jackson

Rookie minicamp practice is a unique situation for Vikings first-round selection Donovan Jackson, because O’Connell opts against any full-team reps — meaning there isn’t a whole lot of on-field work for Jackson and other offensive or defensive linemen.

So then, what is Minnesota’s coaching staff looking for from those players?

“I’ve been around rookie minicamps where there was full-speed team [work] and a lot of injuries and a lot of guys just fighting to make the team. We don’t do that, but we do get some time together as a full group,” O’Connell said. “And to me … for the O-line, D-line, it’s about them being ready to enter the party Monday with our full team. As we start progressing toward Phase 3 and OTAs and minicamp, there’s a lot of ways those guys can get a lot out of it from a techniques-and-fundamental standpoint.

3. A trio of tight ends

O’Connell was asked about Gavin Bartholomew, whom the Vikings drafted in the sixth round out of Pittsburgh, as well as the transition from college football to the NFL specifically at the tight end position.

“It’s a great question, because really all three of those guys in camp here (Bartholomew, Bryson Nesbit and Ben Yurosek), they’re on our roster — because we only had two going into the draft,” O’Connell said. “So we really identified all three of those guys in different ways, how they would fit with the other two guys we feel so great about, T.J. [Hockenson] and Josh [Oliver].

“You know, Coach [Brian Angelichio] is going to be pushing these guys really hard, because more than likely you’re looking at, you know, the third tight end is in that group, hopefully,” he continued, “and then we hope the other two are pushing right there to either make it a hard decision on keeping four, or [go to] the practice squad and all those things.

“Gavin, you know, it’s always a position that sometimes between the film evaluation, the Pro Day, seeing the tape of it, you just hope they show up and look the way you hope they look,” O’Connell added. “And Gavin definitely did.”

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Field Yates: Vikings made best pick in entire NFL Draft

Field Yates, a respected draft analyst for ESPN with a history in the NFL scouting world, chose Minnesota’s first-round pick as his favorite of the 257 selections made in the entire draft. That’s saying something, as the Vikings made five total draft picks.

Yates raved about Ohio State offensive lineman Donovan Jackson, the star guard who kicked outside to left tackle during the Buckeyes’ run to the 2024 national title. Despite arguably entering the draft with bigger needs on defense, especially in a secondary left thin from free agency, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah stood pat and took Jackson with the 24th overall pick.

Not every draft analyst gave the Vikings a passing grade for the decision, but Yates was in the A-plus range in a recent writeup featuring a panel of ESPN experts: “Jackson was 20th overall on my board, as I am extremely bullish on his positional versatility, power, toughness and overall play temperament,” Yates wrote. “The Vikings began this offseason saying they would get their trenches in order and have done it.”

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Note: I like Yates but he is no Chris Simms!

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Vikings Hall of Famer offers to mentor first-round rookie Donovan Jackson

Per Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press, Hall of Famer Randall McDaniel plans to offer mentorship to Jackson, who played both guard and left tackle for the Buckeyes during their run to the 2024 national title.

“I will offer that up to him,” McDaniel said of working with Jackson. “If that’s something he’s interested in, I’m more than willing to do that.”

Let’s go out on a limb and assume Jackson will take the all-time great up on that offer.

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One last offseason move for every NFC team

Minnesota Vikings: Add depth at cornerback

The Vikings were active in free agency to replenish their secondary, re-signing Byron Murphy Jr. and bringing in Isaiah Rodgers. Mekhi Blackmon will be tabbed to play an increased role, but the Vikings don’t have much proven depth behind him.

Asante Samuel Jr. is just 25 years old and, despite struggles due to injury in 2024, still maintains a solid grading profile in coverage. Across 2022 and 2023, Samuel posted an 82.0 PFF coverage grade at outside cornerback.

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Randy Moss’ Son Makes Revealing Comments Amid Vikings Buzz

Montigo Moss, a receiver, like his father, out of Maine, is in rookie minicamp with the Vikings, 15 years after the Hall of Famer donned the colors.

Despite a 143-1,692-16 career line and famous lineage, Moss went undrafted.

“To be completely honest, this was my only opportunity. So, I jumped right on it. Regardless if my dad went here or not, they gave me a chance to come prove myself and try out for the team. So, I jumped on it. And my agent called me, and I was almost in tears because I didn’t know what was left for me after this,” Moss told reporters on May 9.

“This was my only opportunity, my only option really to come prove myself,” Moss said of his invite from the Vikings. “So, I jumped out on it.”

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Yore Mock

Trade Recap

Minnesota Receives:

2026: Round 1, Pick 21

2026: Round 4, Pick 121

Houston Receives:

2026: Round 1, Pick 18

…

Minnesota Receives:

2026: Round 3, Pick 86

2026: Round 5, Pick 162

Los Angeles Receives:

2026: Round 3, Pick 82

…

21. Jermod McCoy CB Tennessee 6’0” 193

50. Jake Slaughter IOL Florida 6’4” 308

86. Jonah Coleman RB Washington 5’9” 229

97. Kamari Ramsey S USC 6’0” 204

118. Lee Hunter DL Texas Tech 6’4” 320

121. Caleb Tiernan OT Northwestern 6’7” 329

162. Trey Moore EDGE Texas 6’3” 245

174. Bryce Boettcher LB Oregon 6’2” 225

232. De’Zhaun Stribling WR Mississippi 6’2” 200

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