Minnesota Vikings add more quality depth with undrafted free agents

After the Minnesota Vikings exited the 2020 NFL Draft with a record-breaking 15 selections, they have added even more depth in undrafted free agency.

Leading into the offseason, the Minnesota Vikings had their work cut out for them in terms of trying to retool and aim at returning to the postseason in 2020. Minnesota was bounced in the NFC Divisional Round by a score of 27-10 at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers, who went on to advance to the Super Bowl before losing to the Kansas City Chiefs for the league title.

Although the Vikings have the bright spot of coming off of a moderately deep playoff run, Minnesota faced some big and incredibly important decisions leading up to the new year in 2020.

While sitting in a tough spot in terms of salary cap space, the Vikings ended up cutting some key players and allowing others to leave via free agency that they just simply couldn’t afford to retain this season.

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That left Minnesota with some holes on both sides of the field and resulted in it focusing more on the incoming youth of players entering the NFL from the college ranks this season to try and fill some voids on the roster.

The first step in doing that came in the NFL Draft, where the Vikings entered the three-day draft from April 23-25 with 12 selections to only exit the draft with a record-breaking 15 selections during the seven rounds.

While Minnesota was praised for its performance during the draft in bringing some much-needed help into the team, its work didn’t stop there in the draft with those 15 players.

In the week following the draft, the Vikings added 12 more new faces to the roster through undrafted free agency, bringing the total of new players added to the depth chart in advance of the 2020 campaign to a total of 27 rookies between the draft and post-draft additions.

Historically, Minnesota has had some luck in undrafted free agency and finding some talent that wasn’t selected in the draft. Some notable names who have stepped up in the past after being signed as an undrafted free agency for the Vikings include wide receiver Adam Thielen, safety Anthony Harris, fullback C.J. Ham, running back Mike Boone and wide receiver Chad Beebe, among others.

Minnesota has invested a ton of resources in undrafted free agency annually, and that continued this offseason with already signing 12 more players to add to the mix of incoming rookie prospects.

With the early additions via undrafted free agency, the Vikings have continued to add depth on both sides of the ball and signed some intriguing players that could have an opportunity to contribute in 2020.

On the offensive side of the ball, Minnesota signed Penn State wide receiver Dan Chisena, Texas A&M wide receiver Quartney Davis, North Carolina fullback Jake Bargas, Pittsburgh tight end Nikia Griffin-Stewart, Oregon tackle Brady Aiello, Michigan State guard Tyler Higby and Augustana center Jake Lacina.

On defense, the Vikings signed the likes of Central Florida cornerback Nevelle Clarke, Baylor linebacker Blake Lynch, Appalachian State linebacker Jordan Fehr, North Carolina safety Myles Dorn and Bosie State defensive tackle David Moa.

With the objective of going into the offseason trying to shed some salary while bringing in a solid amount of young prospects to fill in those holes on affordable contracts moving forward and adding much-needed depth, Minnesota has done just that.

And the Vikings continued to add even more talent and depth via undrafted free agency, where they have traditionally had luck in finding a hidden gem or two who can contribute in purple and gold.