On Thursday, Vikings rookies and a few sophomores met at TCO Performance Center to kick off their NFL journey in rookie minicamp. The media attended a practice session on Friday, and head coach Kevin O’Connell was available for some questions.
Vikings Rookie Looks as Advertised, Thinks His Coach.
Of course, he was asked about several rookies, including his tight ends. The Vikings drafted Gavin Bartholomew in the sixth round of the NFL Draft and acquired a couple of other promising rookies via undrafted free agency.
When asked about the transition from college to the pros, the coach told the journalists: “It’s a great question, because really all three of those guys in camp here (Bartholomew, Bryson Nesbit and Ben Yurosek), they’re on our roster — because we only had two going into the draft. So we really identified all three of those guys in different ways, how they would fit with the other two guys we feel so great about, T.J. [Hockenson] and Josh [Oliver].”
Gavin Bartholomew
Let’s start with Bartholomew, who should be viewed as the favorite to clinch the TE3 spot. He was drafted, while Yurosek and Nesbit were UDFAs. Yurosek was quite expensive, though.
However, using draft capital is a sort of commitment, and teams usually try to keep drafted players on the roster, barring a total disaster of a training camp.
Bartholomew spent his entire college career at Pittsburgh, catching 105 passes for 1,257 yards and 11 touchdowns in 50 games. It is fascinating that he logged between 283 and 326 yards in each of his four campaigns.
Draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote about the sixth-rounder: “Tight end prospect with a broad upper body, muscular arms and adequate demeanor to block. Bartholomew will primarily function as an in-line tight end but can be set in action as a move blocker when needed. He’s unspectacular as an athlete with soft hands and an average catch radius. His block aggression is admirable, but Bartholomew will need to get stronger and improve his block sustain to make a roster.”
O’Connell said about him: “Gavin, you know, it’s always a position that sometimes between the film evaluation, the Pro Day, seeing the tape of it, you just hope they show up and look the way you hope they look. And Gavin definitely did.”
Having to get stronger at the next level is pretty much the consensus for tight ends coming out of college, where they are used more in the passing game than as extra blockers in the rushing attack. To make the next step and actually get reps from scrimmage in the NFL, however, Bartholomew needs to become a better blocker.
As a pass-catcher, it’s easy to see him replicate Johnny Mundt’s TE3 production of 100 or 200 yards a season. Mundt left for Jacksonville, leaving the Vikings with only two tight ends.
Competition for TE3
But fellow rookies Yurosek and Nesbit also want that gig.
Yurosek was one of the top money-getters among UDFAs this year. He played four years (he hardly played in the first one) in Stanford’s subpar offense and still managed to catch 108 passes for 1,342 yards and five touchdowns. Last season, he moved to Georgia and caught 15 passes.
His production at Georgia was underwhelming, but he is a decent athlete and a good blocker. PFF regarded him as a mid-round pick: “Yurosek didn’t see heavy usage in 2024, but he brings adequate all-around NFL ability for the position (best as a move tight end), especially if he can put on five-to-10 pounds. He can be a versatile TE2 in basically any offense as a mid-round pick.”
Nesbit, meanwhile, is an intriguing prospect because he was pretty much North Carolina’s slot receiver and was productive there with 1,510 yards and 13 scores through four seasons. In two of those, 2022 and 2023, both with Drake Maye throwing him the ball, he eclipsed 500 yards each year and scored a total of nine times.
He’s a receiving threat, although his disappointing 4.88 40-yard dash hurt his draft stock dramatically. Nesbit needs to put on weight and learn some of the tight end fundamentals, but the receiving skills are there.
O’Connell added about Bartholomew’s teammates: “We hope the other two are pushing right there to either make it a hard decision on keeping four, or [go to] the practice squad and all those things.”
The Vikings are set with TEs one and two. T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver are a fantastic duo. Hockenson is primarily a pass-catcher, Oliver is a blocker, so the third guy should have some versatility.
It will be a fun competition to watch between the three rookies as the summer unfolds.
