Vikings Player Is Having a Career Renaissance
The Minnesota Vikings are 3-2 at the bye week, a solid record considering the injury avalanche. It helps that two of those victories were fourth-quarter comebacks. Reading a 1-4 record would certainly sting a lot more.
Vikings Player Is Having a Career Renaissance
Various players have helped the club to those wins, including newcomers like Isaiah Rodgers and Jordan Mason. Emerging backups and role players, such as Jalen Redmond or Theo Jackson, have played a role, too.
Part of the latter group is punter Ryan Wright. The Vikings attempted to replace him by adding Aussie punter Oscar Chapman in the past offseason, and the undrafted rookie looked quite promising in the preseason and in training camp.
Ultimately, Wright kept his job, perhaps in part because Chapman botched a field goal hold in the final preseason game. The good news is that Wright, who had a pair of average seasons in 2023 and 2024, has been excellent in the current campaign, and the statistics prove it.
Wright ranks 11th in yards per punt, but fourth in net yards per punt. His 77-yarder has been the longest in the NFL this season, and he has yet to log a touchback (which is good). Now, long punts aren’t always desired. Maybe the term “outkicked the coverage” is ringing a bell. However, Wright also ranks fifth in average hangtime in the NFL.
Furthermore, the Vikings have the league’s top punt unit according to DVOA. That, of course, includes the punter, but also the coverage unit. The group doesn’t allow many return yards on punts. Rookie third-round gunner Tai Felton is excellent in that area.
Wright has additionally been a fantastic holder for the kicking unit. It took Will Reichard five games and a rogue cable to miss a kick.
Sure, fans would like to see more offensive production. Nobody is ever looking forward to a punter booting the ball away, but first of all, punts are better than turnovers. With the offensive struggles and a strong defense, punts are not that bad, and secondly, Mr. Wright is suddenly excellent at his job.
Through the first five NFL weeks, the Vikings have the tenth-ranked special teams group in DVOA. That’s a massive improvement from 27th last year, 30th in 2023, and 30th in 2022.
All year, the front office has put an emphasis on the third phase, acquiring numerous special-teamers to fill out the roster rather than betting on offensive and defensive players to get the job done. Felton was drafted with the intention of helping on special teams, and Chaz Chambliss and Tavierre Thomas probably wouldn’t be around without their expertise in Matt Daniels’ squad.
Wright is now in his fourth season. He joined the Vikings after the 2022 draft as an undrafted player out of Tulane. Surprisingly, he beat veteran punter Jordan Berry in his first competition, and he hasn’t lost one since. In each of the last two offseasons, the Vikings added someone to push him, but he has prevailed, and this year, it’s paying off.
The punter is currently in a contract year. He signed a one-year extension in March, worth $1.75 million. Wright turned 25 in June and has become a real asset for the 2025 Vikings.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.