Vikings Bumped Down a Praised Rookie, Failing to Dress Him for Week 14
The Vikings’ tight end position is beefy, currently boasting four options on the roster. Plus, there’s one who is injured and a player on the practice squad (even after losing a strong veteran recently).
The Week 14 game (an impressive victory) featured a player who has been missing games recently: rookie tight end Ben Yurosek.
The undrafted talent has been turning heads since the offseason. Employing him isn’t about seeing someone gobble up huge yards. Rather, the emphasis has been on leaning on a young player with strong compete, effort, and physicality. What’s the story on an inactive Yurosek?
Vikings Bump Down Ben Yurosek
The issue is that there’s currently a logjam at the position. Part of that reality is health; part of that reality is the new pickup.
T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver are the top pair, a pair of tight ends who are coming off a game where each scored points. The TE2 — Mr. Oliver — hasn’t been healthy for the full season, so the depth has been leaned on when needed. Note, too, that Ben Sims got signed not too long ago, re-added onto the Vikings’ roster on October 27th.
In Sims, Minnesota onboarded a 25-year-old tight end who stands at 6’5″ and who weighs 250 pounds. He had a catch for 9 yards against the Commanders, playing nineteen snaps on offense.
Relying on Sims appears to have come at the expense of Mr. Yurosek, who was one of the undrafted players to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.
In eight games, Ben Yurosek has earned 2 targets, resulting in 1 catch for 5 yards. He has jumped into action for 73 snaps on offense alongside 108 snaps on special teams. The PFF nerds may be interested to know that his limited work has resulted in a 48.4 grade (not very good).
After the 2025 NFL Draft, Minnesota brought the 23-year-old tight end to town with the promise of $254,000 guaranteed. In the world of UDFA finances, that’s a nice payday, suggesting that several teams wanted to give Yurosek a chance to shore up the tight end depth.
Consider a scouting report on the young pass catcher.
“Yurosek has the body type of a pass-catching tight end but he might have a better chance to make the league as a run blocker,” Lance Zierlein writes. “He’s a willing blocker at the point of attack with good short-area movement to stay centered and connected to the block. He lacks base strength, so tenacity will give way to pure power unless he gets stronger in his lower body. His movements in space can be unorthodox and he might not have enough separation quickness to make much of a mark as a pass catcher. Yurosek has an uphill fight on his hands, but a willingness to block gives him a chance.”
The blocking is what’s most appealing within the youngster, an ability that got highlighted from Kevin O’Connell all the way back in training camp.
The Vikings still have room for Ben Yurosek. Moving forward, most important is going to be his capacity to shine as a blocker. Clearing running lanes while keeping J.J. McCarthy clean is the top mandate for the tight end. Even better will be if he proves capable of shining on specials, offering the blocking and tackling that’s needed to allow Matt Daniels to keep pushing specials forward.
In Week 15, the Vikings will be taking on the Cowboys, a team that’s still pushing for the playoffs. Nobody at TCO Performance Center wanted Minnesota to play the role of spoiler going into the final four games. But while that wasn’t the original desire, Minnesota is sitting in that position due to a mess of its own making (one that may be getting cleaned up).
Yurosek’s task will involve helping the Vikings to spoil games. Doing so will help to prove that he’s part of the solution for the 2026 season. The young tight end has much to play for when he sees his number called.
