Dynamic New Viking Keeps Popping Up
The Minnesota Vikings haven’t had too much success in the return game in the last few seasons. Long gone are the days of Kene Nwangwu housing a return or two a year, and even further back is Marcus Sherels as Minnesota’s recipient of punts.
Brandon Powell, last season’s punt returner, has not received a contract extension from the club and has been a free agent since March. Following Jalen Reagor’s unsuccessful stint in 2022, Powell had been Minnesota’s primary man in that department.
At kick return, it has been Ty Chandler since Nwangwu was surprisingly axed last summer. Chandler was reliable in 2024 but not quite the playmaker fans hoped for after watching Nwangwu and Cordarrelle Patterson in recent years.
Dynamic New Viking Keeps Popping Up
That’s why the front office added multiple candidates for the return gigs. One of those is Silas Bolden, an undrafted rookie from the University of Texas.
Bolden started his career at Oregon State but played his last five collegiate seasons at Texas, where he became the team’s top punt returner, returning 30 punts for 315 yards and a touchdown. On offense, he added 23 catches for 267 yards and one score, and he rushed for another touchdown.
Bolden, like Powell, is a tiny player. The Vikings list him at 5’8″ and 160 lbs. Yet, he was a return specialist in college, and the Vikings are looking for one.
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis noted this week about the rookie, “The Vikings aggressively targeted him after the draft. He has the potential to be the team’s most dynamic returner in years.”
In fact, the Vikings handed Bolden $205,000 in guarantees after the draft.
In addition to his punt returning expertise, Bolden has also collected some as a kick returner, amassing 41 returns at Oregon State. He could challenge Chandler there, too, and end up with both return jobs.
Vikings writer Rob Kleifield recently wrote on Vikings.com after comparing Bolden to his brother Victor, who’s been a spring league standout: “There’s a ton of likeness in the Bolden Bros’ games, and the potential Silas has on special teams could be appealing to Minnesota, which parted ways this offseason with starting punt returner Brandon Powell and is inclined to reconfigure its kick return unit after a touchback rule tweak and minimal impacts in that phase (the Vikings ranked in the bottom two in 2024 average punt and kick returns).”
Victor appeared in 15 games in 2018. Silas could top that number if he wins the return competition in training camp.
“Bolden has the requisite traits to stand out in that capacity,” Kleifield continued. “He switches gears in an instant; has dizzying short-area burst and dangerous long speed; and shows a spatial awareness and wiggle that sometimes enables him to run laterally with the ball to acquire an angle and reach greener grass, before stepping on the gas.”
Fellow undrafted rookies Myles Price and Dontae Fleming could compete with Bolden. Tai Felton, the team’s third-round rookie, is another candidate as he is a dynamic player. Veteran Rondale Moore is, too, but his knee injury might be a reason to start him slowly on offense instead of giving him special-teams work.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.
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