2 Vikings Get All-Pro Honors
On Saturday morning, the AP All-Pro teams were announced, and a pair of Vikings were considered. Specialists kicker Will Reichard and long snapper Andrew DePaola earned All-Pro honors after teaming up to deliver arguably the best kicking season in the league.
All-Pro Honors Confirm Vikings’ Specialist Success
Sophomore kicker Reichard was not included in the Pro Bowl roster, losing the race to Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey. In a head-to-head matchup, Reichard clearly came out victorious, but it didn’t help him reach the All-Star game.
In this day-and-age, the All-Pro rosters are the real honors folks look at, and Reichard is surely deserving. The 2024 sixth-rounder hit 33 of 35 field goal attempts, as well as all 31 extra points. His misses sparked controversy over whether he might have hit the wires. Only Eddy Pineiro and Nick Folk finished the season with a higher field-goal percentage (both 96.6%; 28/29). Pineiro missed four extra points, while Folk was perfect from that range, but only attempted 22 such kicks.
The Vikings wrote on the team website, “He joined Blair Walsh in 2012 and Gary Anderson in 1998 as the only Minnesota kickers so far to receive the best-in-class distinction that is a First-Team All-Pro. Jan Stenerud (1984) and Fuad Reveiz (1994) were Second-Team All-Pros. During an indelible campaign, Reichard converted 33 of 35 field-goal attempts and all 31 extra points.”
Early in the 2025 campaign, head coach Kevin O’Connell said about his elite kicker, “I mean, you guys saw it, to hit it [from] 62 [yards], darn near halfway up the net is something else. And I got so much confidence in Will [Reichard], it’s almost dangerous.”
Reichard was drafted in 2024 and quickly brought hope that he could solidify the position in the Twin Cities. The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer was automatic early in his career, but he suffered a quad injury halfway through the year. After returning four weeks later, Reichard’s magic dwindled, and he couldn’t get his groove back for the remainder of the season. Thankfully, he returned to his previous heights this season.
In 2025, the kicker set the franchise-best 11 field goals made from over 50 yards. That mark was tied for the best in the league. Reichard also scored the longest field goal in franchise history from 61 and he has made six of the seven longest. He’s been a true game-changer for the Vikings.
For the first time in team history, two specialists earned All-Pro honors in the same season. DePaola is not new to the All-Pro ballot. The 38-year-old was a first-team All-Pro in 2022 and 2024, and second-team in 2023 and 2025.
Going undrafted in 2012, he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming out and stayed with the franchise for five seasons. He then played for the Bears in 2017 and the Raiders in 2018. A torn ACL knocked him out of that season and he didn’t play in a game until the Vikings needed an upgrade and signed him in November of 2020 — more than two years after his injury.
Very much established as an elite long snapper, DePaola is an upcoming free agent. The Vikings would need to reach a new deal to secure his services for a seventh season. However, retirement could be looming at age 38.
The Vikings noted, “DePaola last year made history as the first long snapper to ever receive a nod to the Pro Bowl in three consecutive years; though he wasn’t voted to the all-star game this year, All-Pro is a significant recognition based strictly on on-field performance. DePaola, who served as a season-long captain for the second consecutive season, anchored a Vikings specialist group that was outstandingly consistent throughout the season.”
DePaola was snubbed from the first-team in favor of Jaguars long snapper Ross Matiscik.
Punter Ryan Wright had a fantastic season as well and his contract is expiring, too. It’s easy to make the case that the kicking battery was the best-functioning part of the Minnesota Vikings in 2025, and two of the three contributors were honored by the AP.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.