Vikings Visit with Draft Prospect at Sneaky Position of Need
Josh Frey
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The 2024 NFL Draft is just over one week away.
Over the past few weeks, the Minnesota Vikings have been hard at work making their final evaluations of draft prospects and have conducted multiple top 30 visits. On Wednesday, it was reported that the Vikings visited with another prospect when they brought in Alabama RB Jase McClellan.
Vikings Visit with Draft Prospect at Sneaky Position of Need
Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reported the visit, tweeting, “Alabama @AlabamaMBB running back Jase McClellan (5-10, 221, 1,894 career yards, 16 touchdowns, 5.6 average) visited #Cowboys #Cardinals #Rams #Chargrers #Ravens #Saints #Jaguars #Panthers #Vikings, per league sources. Rushed for 87 yards, two touchdowns against Michigan in College Football Playoff game. Caught 38 career passes for 398 yards, six touchdowns.”
McClellan joined the Alabama program in 2020, but for the first couple years of his collegiate career, he was buried on the Crimson Tide depth chart behind names like Najee Harris and Brian Robinson.
He did break onto the scene in 2022, though, putting together 112 carries for 655 yards (5.8 yards per carry) and seven touchdowns serving as the running mate next to Jahmyr Gibbs. In 2023, he finally got his chance to be the lead back, and he made the most of it with 180 carries for 890 yards and eight touchdowns.
Lance Zierlein of NFL.com described McClellan in the following way: “Steady three-down running back with the size and skill set that should create a roster opportunity for him. McClellan lacks explosiveness but gets it done with above-average vision and know-how. He’s quick to process his lane choice and smooth getting from cut to cut.”
For the Vikings, they obviously had one of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL last season. Minnesota ranked 29th in rushing yards, tied for last in rushing touchdowns, and were 23rd in yards per carry.
They’ve done their best to rectify that by parting ways with Alexander Mattison and replacing him with Aaron Jones, but as a result, they have very little plans for the future past the 2024 season at the position. Jones is on a one-year deal and will turn 30 years old in December while Ty Chandler proved to be a decent back, but he is in the third year of his four-year rookie contract.
As a result, it would make sense for Minnesota to look to add another rotational back, particularly if any injury issues pop up with Jones as they did in 2023.
McClellan will turn 22 years old in June.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Sports Reference CFB.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.