A Sneaky Competition Is Brewing for the Vikings
This offseason, the Vikings haven’t lost too many players, but a few contributors still departed. Receiver Jalen Nailor left in free agency and defenders Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave were shown the door. Neither exit was particularly shocking. Skol Nation was more caught off guard by the exit of four-year punter Ryan Wright.
In his place, Minnesota acquired free agent Johnny Hekker, who earned All-Decade recognition at the end of the 2010s. He’s nearing retirement at age 36, but signed a one-year deal with the Vikings.
Unless the club adds a fresh leg in the draft. This week, draft analyst Ryan Fowler reported that the franchise will host Elon’s punter Jeff Yurk.
He posted on social media, “The Minnesota Vikings will hold a private workout with Elon punter Jeff Yurk tomorrow morning, per source. The FCS’ all-time leader in yards per punt and a two-time first-team FCS All-American, Yurk averaged 58.6 yards per punt at Hula a few months back.”
The Vikings wouldn’t waste time with punting prospects if they were completely locked in on Hekker for the upcoming season. It’s noteworthy that he’s coming off a pretty weak season.
At 36, he has lost some of his magic. After spending his first ten NFL seasons with the Rams in St. Louis and Los Angeles, he has been a journeyman since, with a three-year stint with the Carolina Panthers from 2022 to 2024 and a one-year stint with the Tennessee Titans in 2025.
Among the 32 punters with at least 25 punts, Hekker ranked 23rd in PFF grade, 20th in yards per punt and 25th in net average (with returns). He also had a high touchback rate and his hangtime ranked 21st.
Hekker signed a fully guaranteed $1,487,500 contract. If the Vikings decided to go with a rookie, they’d still be on the hook for his salary. That’s not a neck-breaking dead cap hit, though, and could even make sense given a rookie is a cost-controlled asset for four seasons.
Yurk could be a late-round pick-up, perhaps even an undrafted free agent. He’s flying mostly under the radar in the draft cycle, even missing in some punter rankings. It would be smart to add a second punter to the room to push and challenge the veteran and build an early rapport with All-Pro kicker Will Reichard.
SI.com’s Joe Nelson wrote about the special-teamer: “As a sophomore in 2022, Yurk set a record at Elon by averaging 44.1 yards per punt on 53 punts. He had 18 punts inside the 20, and 16 of 50 or more yards. Eight of his punts went for touchbacks. Yurk transferred to Pittsburgh and didn’t play in 2023, but he returned to Elon in 2024 and 2025, earning All-America honors while being named First Team Coastal Athletic Association.”
“In 2024, he broke his previous school record by averaging 47.9 yards per punt on 60 punts, including 26 punts of at least 50 yards, 19 inside the 20, and only four touchbacks. In 2025, he reset his school record again, this time averaging 48.3 yards per punt on 52 punts.”
The punter position is important for the Vikings, especially if they fail to upgrade their offense from last season. Everyone thought the punter for the 2026 campaign arrived in March, but the Vikings might not be done.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference helped with this article.