Vikings have found a hidden gem in NFL’s top-ranked undrafted rookie

The Minnesota Vikings emerged from draft weekend with arguably the lowest equity of the 32 NFL teams. Due largely to a series of trades made in 2024, the Vikings wound up with just five total draft selections, including one — first-round guard Donovan Jackson — in the top 100.

GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah the Vikings may have covered their tracks with what has been a massive — and hugely productive — haul of undrafted rookie signings.

NFL draft analyst Thor Nystrom ranked Minnesota’s 18-player UDFA class as the best in football, highlighted by the No. 1 undrafted prospect on his board: Kansas Jayhawks offensive tackle Logan Brown.

Coincidentally, Brown was Nystroom’s 97th-ranked overall prospect in his annual 500-player Big Board for Fantasy Life’s draft coverage. The Vikings originally held that exact spot in the draft, but opted to trade back with the Houston Texans and make Maryland wide receiver Tai Felton the final pick of the third round.

“Brown, seen as a mid-rounder by most analysts heading into the draft, is going to make this roster,” Nystrom wrote. “The Vikings have little in the way of proven OL depth behind Blake Brandel and Justin Skule.”

Brown is a hulking, 6-foot-6, 315-pound lineman who anchored the right tackle spot for the Jayhawks last season. He was a late-bloomer on the scouting trail, as he spent five years in college, and missed just about the entire 2023 season due to injury after transferring to Kansas from Wisconsin.

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In 2024, Brown started 11 games and scored a solid overall grade of 82.5 from PFF. He was an effective run blocker and didn’t allow a single sack or QB hit in pass protection. He also showcased an elite athletic profile at the NFL Scouting Combine, as his 9.49 RAS score ranks 77th out of over 1,500 offensive tackles dating back to 1987.

Adofo-Mensah’s drafted rookies have been questionable at best over his three-plus years as the Vikings’ GM, but he’s been brilliant overall in free agency. He’s found particular success with undrafted rookies, as six such players have made the team’s 53-man roster under his watch: Ryan Wright, Ivan Pace Jr., Gabriel Murphy, Taki Taimani, Bo Richter  and Dwight McGlothern.

Brown could be the latest hidden gem to make that list.

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