Minnesota Vikings wide receiver and special teams standout Tai Felton has become accustomed to adapting. Once a star at the University of Maryland, Felton entered the NFL knowing his path to playing time would look different, and he has embraced it.

Felton has played in 10 games for the Vikings in 2025, with almost all of his work coming on special teams. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound receiver caught 172 passes for 2,207 yards and 17 touchdowns in four seasons at Maryland.

“It’s just me wanting to contribute to the team and dominate my role any way possible,” Felton said on Glenn Clark Radio Nov. 7. “… If they feel like I can be a special teams player and I can win my one-on-one battles and help the team win, I’m going to end up doing it regardless.”

The third-round rookie said that mentality was shaped before he arrived in Minnesota. At Maryland, he joined a talented receiver group that included Dontay Demus Jr., Rakim Jarrett and Jeshaun Jones. Special teams became his entry point onto the field then, just as it has in the NFL.

“I had to pick it up and learn a special teams role very early in my career, my freshman year of college,” he said. “So it’s kind of me kind of going through the same thing when I was at Maryland, just learning from those older guys and then whenever I had my chance to play receiver, go out there and dominate, but until then, dominate my role on special teams.”

Now, he’s trying to soak in everything he can from one of the deepest receiver groups in football, which includes Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and Adam Thielen. Jefferson, Felton joked, might not even be human. Jefferson has posted 8,179 receiving yards since entering the league in 2020.

“I’ve probably seen him drop like two passes in my six, seven months of being here, and two of them were in a walkthrough so I don’t think that really counts, but he’s definitely that guy,” Felton said.

Felton also maintains a close connection to Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who played for Maryland from 2012-2014. The two trained together during Felton’s college summers, and Diggs remains a mentor.

“He was just giving me some tools and some juice to use before I was getting ready for my first NFL season, so I appreciate him a lot, for sure,” Felton said.

Felton said he understands comparisons to Diggs, who began his NFL career as a special teams contributor before emerging as one of the league’s top receivers. Felton sees a similar opportunity ahead.

“It’s a blessing knowing that the position I’m in, to be able to play special teams and then be able to go up and learn receiver, but just to see other guys have done it before,” Felton said.

The transition to Minnesota has been eased by the presence of his former Maryland teammate Jeshaun Jones, who is on the Vikings’ practice squad. The two spend most days together.

“It’s been awesome. I mean, just like college, I have my best friend,” Felton said. “We’re not from Minnesota, so we don’t really have any friends or family out here besides guys on the team, so we’re pretty much with each other every day like it’s back in college.”

Felton, still rooting for his alma mater, said he stays in touch with Maryland players as the Terps navigate a difficult season. His advice is to finish games and keep perspective.

“You can never take your wins too high and take your losses too low,” Felton said. “You’ve just got to go out there and play ball, man, and have fun with it.”

For more from Felton, listen to the full interview here:

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings