Once a Solo Competition, Returning Vikings Player Now Enters a Head-to-Head Battle
For a little bit, punter Ryan Wright was working through a solo competition. No longer.
The returning Vikings player will see direct competition in UDFA signing Oscar Chapman, someone who played his college ball at Auburn. Matt Daniels — and, of course, head coach Kevin O’Connell — will now move into an offseason where there’s a clear battle at punter. At this stage, who has the edge?
Returning Vikings Player Ryan Wright and the P1 Job
A key detail to note about Chapman is that he isn’t counting against the offseason roster limit, thereby allowing Minnesota to carry 91 instead of 90 players.
Consider what the Vikings’ website said about the matter: “Chapman will join the Vikings as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program (IPP), which helps foreign born football players reach the NFL. Since its inception in 2017, the program has provided elite international athletes with an opportunity to compete at the NFL level, improve their skills, and potentially earn a spot on an NFL roster.”
Mr. Chapman is coming in at 6’3″ and 197 pounds. The specialist did work for Auburn from 2020 through to 2024, meaning he has five college seasons to draw on for experience. Keep in mind that he was playing within the SEC, meaning that he faced strong competition.
In 2024, Chapman played in a dozen games. He punted the ball 41 times, averaging 42.5 yards per punt. The year before Chapman played in thirteen games, punting 61 times while averaging 44.6 yards per punt. In each of those two seasons, Chapman picked up a single carry — one went for 10 yards, the other for 6 — suggesting he has a bit of athleticism that could get the gears turning for Matt Daniels, opening up the potential for a trick play or two (has there ever been a football fan/coach who doesn’t love a good — emphasis on good — trick play?).
As for Ryan Wright, the NFL career has been a bit up and down.
Wright’s rookie season demonstrated ample promise. The young punter had a single, lonely touchback all season — just 1 of his 73 punts, working out to a tiny 1.4% touchback rate — while averaging 42.3 yards gained per punt. As a sophomore, however, things went worse. The touchbacks jumped up to 7 in 59 punts (11.9%), meaning there was a higher rate of negative outcomes even though there were less opportunities. Worse yet, the average yards gained per punt dropped down to 41.6.
In 2024, Ryan Wright settled in somewhere in the middle of previous performances. He had 5 touchbacks, lowering the percentage to 8.9%. The most promising detail, though, could be that his percentage of punts that got downed inside the twenty-yard line sat at a career-high number. Consider the stats for his career:
- 2022: 43.8% Inside the Twenty
- 2023: 28.8% Inside the Twenty
- 2024: 48.2% Inside the Twenty
During the offseason, Ryan Wright agreed to a new deal to keep calling Minnesota home. The details of the contract are fairly revealing.
Wright is now operating on a single-season contract. The cap hit comes in at $1,750,000, working out to 0.6% of the salary cap (per OTC). A critical detail is that $650,000 is guaranteed, meaning a cut would leave behind that precise amount as dead money. So, some financial commitment but not so large that a future cut is unfathomable.
The Vikings thus seem pleased to allow the pair of punters — Ryan Wright and Oscar Chapman — to go head-to-head, at least as the offseason competition gets rolling. The possibility exists that the young guy quickly falls behind by a good margin, prompting a roster cut so that someone else (a different international player?) could get brought to town. That possibility, however, isn’t set in stone; rather, it’s precisely that: a possibility.
Wright will turn 25 on June 1st, so youth (or lack thereof) isn’t a major factor for the more established veteran. He should be considered the favorite to win the P1 job but won’t be impossible to overcome.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and Bluesky (@VikingsGazette). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.
