Vikings Lay Claim to a Highly-Rated 2025 UDFA
The Vikings have wrapped up their 2025 NFL Draft and UDFA classes, and it seems as if they have nailed another undrafted free agency acquisition, just like they did in 2023 with Ivan Pace Jr. out of Cincinnati.
The Vikings claimed Georgia Bulldogs TE Benjamin Yurosek, an in-line receiving tight end that stands at 6’4 and weighs 245lbs, hailing from Bakersfield, California.
Yurosek transferred to Georgia in 2024 after three seasons with the Stanford Cardinals. That season did see his worst statistical output in his four-year collegiate career, but he was on a much better team with much more talent and right to spread the ball than Stanford.
Yurosek possesses fantastic hands with a textbook method of catching, using his hands and catching away from the body as opposed to letting the ball get all the way to his body to secure it. He has a high football IQ and has the ability to line up at multiple positions on the offense, although his best chance to succeed in the NFL will likely be as an in-line TE. This is because of the fact that not only is he a reliable pass-catcher, but he is also a solid and willing blocker in both the run and passing game.
To complement his blocking and receiving acumen, Yurosek also possesses a great explosiveness off the line that allows him to create separation quickly and win routes against whoever was defensively responsible for him. This guy kind of sounds like a certain current Vikings tight end, huh?
PFF published a list of the top-ranked UDFAs before signings took place on Saturday night, and Yurosek came in at #5 out of the 100 players that were a part of it. He was also ranked at 119 on PFF’s 2025 NFL Draft Big Board, implying he should’ve been a 4th-round selection in the event.
PFF gives insight on new Minnesota Vikings TE Ben Yurosek:
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 5-10 pounds. He can be a versatile TE2 in basically any offense as a mid-round pick.
Those last couple of words are worth noting: “he can be a versatile TE2 in basically any offense as a mid-round pick.” This is important, seeing as Yurosek at best is currently viewed as the TE4 of the Vikings before any offseason work is done, and the UDFA would have to bypass newly-drafted Vikings TE Gavin Bartholomew and Josh Oliver, the current Vikings TE2, who is in a contract year in 2025.
If I had to make a prediction, Oliver likely walks in the 2026 offseason onto another team’s field, and the Vikings are confident with their tight end room of Hockenson, Bartholomew, and Yurosek for 2026 and at least a year or two after that.
Also worth noting, the Vikings are already in the stages of the “out” of Hockenson’s contract, and if Bartholomew and Yurosek impress enough, they could both be the top two tight ends of the Minnesota Vikings in a few short seasons.
