Vikings Pickup Offers “Relentless Forward Charge” and “Non-Stop Energy”
Chaz Chambliss was scooped up as part of Minnesota’s UDFA haul, a Vikings pickup who has been a bit under the radar due to lots of attention going toward Logan Brown, Tyler Batty, and Silas Bolden.
The Georgia edge rusher is going to face an uphill battle to get onto the roster. The top of the position is solidified with an excellent twosome — veterans Jonathan Greenard alongside Andrew Van Ginkel — and then a tremendously-gifted young fella: Dallas Turner. What kind of chance does Chambliss have of getting onto the 53-man roster?
Vikings Pickup Chaz Chambliss & The 53-Man Roster Competition
The team website puts Mr. Chambliss at 6’1″ and 242 pounds. No doubt, the size is concerning if one is looking to make a living as an NFL edge rusher.
Consider, as a point of reference, someone who is perfectly built for the position: Danielle Hunter. The former Viking stands at 6’5″ and weighs 263 pounds. He is ultra explosive and has very long arms, perfect for doing battle with the NFL’s bully offensive tackles.
Chambliss won’t have the advantages that accompany a build like the one Hunter has.
The way to win for Chambliss is going to involve unbelievable effort, excellent toughness, and a commitment to perfecting technique. Anything less than that collection of abilities will likely lead to being out of work before too long.
Consider the scouting report on the NFL’s website: “Two-year starter who has played with and against some of the best competition. Chambliss is an undersized 3-4 outside linebacker and he’s very strong for his size. He plays the game with a relentless forward charge but will run into some road blocks due to his lack of size and length. He flashes rush moves on occasion but he isn’t much of an edge-turner and is more likely to pressure the pocket with secondary effort. Chambliss has the mental and physical makeup to stick around as a solid backup and plus special-teams performer.”
In the bullet point list included after the scouting blurb, Lance Zierlein indicates that Chaz Chambliss “plays with non-stop energy and an attacking mindset.” Understandably, the Vikings were intrigued by someone who offers those abilities. Every DC wants a defender who is constantly on attack, but one wonders if it’s particularly attractive for an aggressive tactician like Brian Flores.
The NFL scouting assessment argues that Chambliss should have gotten scooped up in the 6th or 7th.
During the 2024 season, Chaz Chambliss played in fourteen games for Georgia. He offered his Bulldogs 40 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 10 tackles for loss, and 1 fumble recovery. Keep in mind, as well, that he was part of the 2021 and 2022 Georgia teams that won the National Championship.
Getting onto the roster is going to involve proving to be a monster on special teams while showing signs of promise on defense. Indeed, there will need to be immediate help for Matt Daniels’ phase as Chambliss works toward getting rotated into Flores’ edge rusher crew.
His most direct competition are Batty, Gabriel Murphy, and Bo Richter. Of those three, Murphy and Richter are the presumed favorites to make the team given their contributions last season.
The battle ahead of Chaz Chambliss is a difficult one, but he’s been given a chance for a reason. At the very least, look for the Vikings pickup from the UDFA cluster of talent to be an option for the practice squad.
Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference CFB helped with this piece.
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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.