{"id":900293,"date":"2026-05-24T21:30:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T21:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/900293\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T21:30:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T21:30:23","slug":"the-most-overlooked-players-on-the-vikings-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/900293\/","title":{"rendered":"The Most Overlooked Players on the Vikings Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

Minnesota Vikings<\/a> training camp<\/a> is less than 10 weeks away, and during that event, the coaching staff will shave the roster from 90 men to 53. Accordingly, it\u2019s time to start defining some of the overlooked players entering the summer.<\/p>\n

Minnesota\u2019s roster has several quieter names who could become useful pieces before the regular season.<\/p>\n

Minnesota\u2019s roster is more than capable of returning to the postseason<\/a> in 2026. The following players will quietly assist in that endeavor.<\/p>\n

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Depth Players Will Affect Key Summer Battles<\/p>\n

The annual underrated pecking order of Vikings, ranked in ascending order (No. 1 = most underrated).<\/p>\n

\"GavinPittsburgh<\/a> tight end Gavin Bartholomew<\/a> (TE02) participates in on-field drills during the 2025 NFL Combine on Feb. 28, 2025, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis<\/a>. Bartholomew showcased his athletic profile in front of NFL evaluators as teams assessed tight end prospects ahead of the draft, with Minnesota among the franchises monitoring offensive depth options during the scouting process. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n

5. Gavin Bartholomew | TE<\/p>\n

Minnesota drafted Bartholomew in 2025 from Round 6 \u2014 and then he didn\u2019t do a damn thing as a rookie because of injury. Undrafted tight end Ben Yurosek<\/a> swiped his job.<\/p>\n

Now, though, Bartholomew is presumably healthy, so he\u2019s basically another rookie for the Vikings this season. He and Yurosek will duke it out for the TE3 job this summer, and there\u2019s a chance that Bartholomew prevails, building on the plan from the 2025 NFL Draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Who knows? Perhaps Bartholomew is just plain good. There\u2019s no way to tell until he steps foot on a regular season field. The Vikings drafted him for a reason 13 months ago.<\/p>\n

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4. Ryan Van Demark<\/a> | OT<\/p>\n

The 2025 numbers for Van Demark, a newcomer in free agency, are quite phenomenal, especially for a guy who projects as a backup tackle on the Vikings\u2019 2026 depth chart<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are the\u00a0Pro Football Focus<\/a>\u00a0grades with snap counts<\/p>\n

The pass-blocking:<\/p>\n

And the run-blocking:<\/p>\n

Fans hope that Christian Darrisaw<\/a>\u2019s ACL has finally healed. If Darrisaw encounters more troubles, inserting Van Demark into the lineup shouldn\u2019t spell doomsday, based on his performance in Buffalo last year.<\/p>\n

3. Jay Ward<\/a> | S<\/p>\n

Ward\u2019s path to increased playing time is now clear. With Harrison Smith<\/a>\u2019s departure, ample safety snaps are available. The Vikings further emphasized this by passing on Dillon Thieneman<\/a> and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the draft, despite Thieneman frequently appearing in mock drafts as a Minnesota-bound player. This leaves Ward, Theo Jackson<\/a>, and 3rd-Round rookie Jakobe Thomas as the primary contenders for those roles.<\/p>\n

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Ward already demonstrated his potential late in 2025. He quietly began taking snaps from Jackson, bringing a grittier, more aggressive style to the secondary as Brian Flores<\/a> relied on him down the stretch.<\/p>\n

With only one year left on his contract, this upcoming season is crucial for Ward to prove he can be more than a rotational defensive back. Ward played 250 defensive snaps last year and banked a 70.4 PFF grade. His aggression and playmaking were noteworthy.<\/p>\n

2. Blake Brandel<\/a> | OL<\/p>\n

Brandel consistently elevates the importance of a backup role, so much so that he usually wiggles his way into a starting job.<\/p>\n

\"BlakeMinnesota Vikings offensive tackle Blake Brandel (64) stretches before a preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs<\/a> on Aug. 27, 2021, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City<\/a>, Missouri. Brandel prepared alongside Minnesota\u2019s offensive line group before kickoff as the Vikings evaluated roster depth and developmental talent during preseason action entering the regular season. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports.<\/p>\n

Last season, Brandel played in all 17 games, starting nine and logging 64% of Minnesota\u2019s offensive snaps. The vast playing time was largely due to the Vikings\u2019 injury-plagued offensive line, for which Brandel provided crucial stability.<\/p>\n

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His greatest asset is his versatility; Brandel can play guard, tackle, and center. It made him one of the Vikings\u2019 most valuable depth players in 2025, stepping in to steady an offensive line frequently disrupted by injuries.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s his work at center, however, that truly sparks interest for the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Brandel played 383 snaps at center, showing steady improvement throughout the season. What began as a longshot opportunity to start at the position evolved into a genuine discussion. While his 61.4 PFF grade indicates solid rather than superstar-level play, it represents valuable consistency for an offensive line that often lacked it.<\/p>\n

Brandel is on deck to start at center in Week 1, too. Whoodathunkit?<\/p>\n

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1. James Pierre<\/a> | CB<\/p>\n

Pierre logged a magnificent 86.8 PFF grade in 2025. If that mark translates to 2026, well, Pierre should actually start over Byron Murphy Jr.<\/a> or Isaiah Rodgers<\/a>. That won\u2019t happen because the coaching staff loves Murphy Jr. and Rodgers, but Pierre has the spine to start.<\/p>\n

\"JamesPittsburgh<\/a> Steelers cornerback James Pierre (42) warms up before a game against the Denver Broncos<\/a> on Sep. 20, 2020, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Pierre prepared for early-season action as the Steelers hosted Denver in front of a limited crowd, with Pittsburgh eventually earning a 26-21 victory during the Week 2 matchup at home. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports.<\/p>\n

That\u2019ll be vital to remember if injuries beset either starter \u2014 Murphy Jr. and Rodgers somehow played 17 games apiece in 2025, which is rare for two starting corners.<\/p>\n

Pierre is the real deal, and at CB3<\/a>, he has a chance to be the Vikings\u2019 best third corner since the Mike Zimmer era.<\/p>\n

His 41.5 passer rating allowed in Pittsburgh last year was just to die for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minnesota Vikings training camp is less than 10 weeks away, and during that event, the coaching staff will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":900294,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[8367,3971,12782,1508,258,7,1848,21433,2004,9714,5856,31346,118,110,9737,233,259,2529,6,520,4255,23207,234],"class_list":["post-900293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-vikings","tag-ben-yurosek","tag-blake-brandel","tag-byron-murphy-jr","tag-christian-darrisaw","tag-denver-broncos","tag-football","tag-gavin-bartholomew","tag-harrison-smith","tag-indianapolis","tag-isaiah-rodgers","tag-james-pierre","tag-jay-ward","tag-kansas-city","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-minnesotavikings","tag-nfl","tag-pittsburgh","tag-ryan-van-demark","tag-theo-jackson","tag-vikings"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116631688147552183","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}