Little-Known Vikings Lineman Snagged a Strong Payday to Compete Along the OL
Joe Huber is now a Vikings lineman, brought aboard within the haul of undrafted free agents.
Donovan Jackson is stealing all the headlines due to his status as the No. 24 selection. There’s a widespread expectation that Mr. Jackson will be the Week 1 starter. Huber is facing considerably more modest expectations. If the UDFA snags a roster spot, he will have been a success as a rookie. Are there any hints that he’ll be capable of doing so?
Vikings Lineman Joe Huber Competing at Guard
Start off with the finances, the great litmus test for the NFL.
Securing Mr. Huber’s services meant handing over a standard three-year contract for UDFAs. The key detail rests in the guaranteed cash. The lineman landed $210,000 in guaranteed money, a strong commitment that reveals there were several teams interested in acquiring the large lad who is coming in at 6’5″ and 310 pounds.
Consider, as well, that some talent evaluators viewed him as a Day 3 selection.
On the NFL website, Lance Zierlein offered some praise: “Scheme-friendly interior lineman with guard/center flexibility. Huber is an athletic blocker who is quick off the ball. He plays with body control and accuracy as a pulling guard and on work-ups off of duo blocks, but he lacks the length and mass to win consistently against NFL power. He leans forward at times, creating quick losses at the point of attack and in protection. Huber is athletic in recovery mode, but he needs to calm his feet during pass sets and eliminate edge leakage. Huber projects as a solid backup whose ceiling could be defined by a coach’s ability to correct lunging and leaning.”
The NFL analyst assigns a draft grade that insists Joe Huber should go in the 5th or 6th.
As a freshman and sophomore, Joe Huber put in work with Cincinnati, picking up work in twenty games. He was thus a teammate of Ivan Pace Jr., one of the great UDFA success stories of recent memory. Huber then worked his way over to Wisconsin, playing in twenty-five games for the Big 10 program.
PFF assigned strong but not sizzling grades. Last season, Huber came in at 139th among 639 guards who were considered with a 68.7 grade. The pass blocking — a 76.2 grade — was a decent step ahead of his run blocking — a 66.4 grade. The pass-happy NFL will always be interested in employing guards who can keep a QB clean, but the basic truth is that Joe Huber needs to improve across the board.
Offensive tackle Logan Brown has earned a decent bit of attention since being signed as an UDFA. He, too, earned a nice payday by seeing $244,000 guaranteed on his contract. Can the team really accommodate a pair of undrafted linemen on the final roster? Possibly. Brown and Huber are competing directly with Walter Rouse and Michael Jurgens, late-round picks from 2024.
Consider, as well, some of what the Vikings’ website had to say about the recent addition on the offensive line.
“Huber had no fanfare as a recruit,” Rob Kleifield writes, “and joined Cincinnati as a walk-on, choosing the Bearcats over Akron. Eventually, he was rewarded with a scholarship, and made such a quality impression on Luke Fickell that he followed his coach to Wisconsin.”
In the past, Joe Huber has overcome some long odds to find success on the football field. Could something similar occur at the NFL level? No guarantee, of course, but the Vikings have signalled their belief in him within the contract and will be looking for him to make some noise throughout OTAs, mini camp, and training camp.
Huber is 23.
Editor’s Note: Information from Sports Reference CFB, PFF, 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.
