C.J. Ham is an unsung hero of the Minnesota Vikings offense

Minnesota Vikings fullback C.J. Ham is an unsung hero of the elite rushing attack.

Growing up in northern Minnesota, C.J. Ham always held the dream of reaching the NFL and hearing his name called in the NFL Draft to begin the next journey of his football career.

After a playing career at Denfeld High School in Duluth, MN and later at Augustana University (Division II) in South Dakota, Ham didn’t end up hearing his name called in the 2016 NFL Draft, going undrafted following the seven-round selection process.

Prior to the 2016 NFL season, however, the home state team the Minnesota Vikings invited the running back/fullback to training camp to provide him with a shot to make the 53-man roster along with numerous other undrafted prospects. Ham didn’t end up making that roster, ultimately signing a practice squad contract with the Vikings that entire year as a running back.

In 2017, he finally got his shot on the 53-man roster in Minnesota as a fullback. Now four years later, Ham is a key part to what has become one of the top running games in the entire league. Before the 2017 season, Ham was activated from the practice squad and hasn’t looked back since. In 2020, he is taking part in his fourth season with the Vikings and recently signed a new four-year contract before the year to remain in Minnesota for at least the next few seasons.

The biggest task on Ham’s plate the last couple of years has been blocking and creating paths for the Vikings ground game led by dominant running back Dalvin Cook. Specifically, in the last few seasons, Ham has been a big, underrated part of that aspect of the team’s offense.

C.J. Ham is part of the engine that makes the Minnesota Vikings offense run.

Leading into Week 14 of the 2020 campaign, Ham has played in 59 of the possible 60 regular-season games in Minnesota since 2017, missing just one game during the 2018 season. Most recently in 2019, Ham earned his first Pro Bowl appearance when he was named to the annual showcase as a fullback.

Over his career, Ham has not only been a key blocking piece alongside the offensive linemen and tight ends on the front lines of the Vikings offense, but he has also pitched in with the passing game and with his legs running the ball alongside Cook and company in the backfield.

Through 12 games in 2020, Ham has recorded a total of 38 receptions for 333 yards and two touchdowns in three-plus seasons, adding 24 rushes and 56 yards with one touchdown on the ground.

His best year to date came during the Pro Bowl season in 2019, when Ham finished with 17 catches for 149 yards and one touchdown, adding seven rushes for 17 yards on in the running game. In 2020, he has continued that trend, adding three catches for 31 yards and one touchdown along with four carries for 18 yards rushing.

Although his personal stats might not be that impressive, he has taken helped boost a ground game that ranks near the tops in the NFL once again in 2020. So far this season, the Vikings rank fifth in the league in rushing, tallying a total of 1,748 yards (fifth in NFL) on 359 carries (sixth in NFL) while averaging 4.9 yards per carry (tied for second in NFL) with 14 rushing touchdowns (tied for fifth in NFL).

Cook oftentimes receives a bulk of the credit in the ground game in Minnesota, ranking second in the league in rushing attempts (251), second in rushing yards (1,250) and first in rushing touchdowns (13), but there are many aspects to the offense and players within it that have fed into that success running the ball.

And perhaps one of the more underrated pieces of that Vikings offense is Ham, who was once an undrafted free agent who Minnesota took a chance on. Five years after taking that chance, Ham has stepped up and become a big part of the purple and gold offensive unit.