Minnesota Vikings 2023 UDFA Tracker: Ivan Pace Jr., Calvin Avery, Jack Podlesny
The Vikings added six players in the 2023 NFL Draft, the franchise's smallest draft class since 2009. The draft is about quality more than raw quantity, and the Vikings believe their six-player class will have a big impact on the team's future. Still, for the purposes of filling out their 90-man roster ahead of OTAs, there's a bit of extra importance placed on the undrafted free agent process this year.
Here are all of the Vikings' 15 UDFA signings, as announced by the team.
Cincinnati ILB Ivan Pace Jr.
This is a big one. Linebacker was a need for the Vikings in the draft, but they didn't select one with any of their six picks. Pace was Brugler's ninth-ranked linebacker in this class; he gave him a fourth-round grade.
After three standout years at Miami (OH), Pace transferred to Cincinnati and had a massive season, recording 136 tackles, 20.5 TFL, 9.0 sacks, four passes defended, and two forced fumbles in 2022. He was a unanimous All-American. Pace is undersized at 5'10", 231 pounds, making him a bit of a positional tweener, which is undoubtedly why he went undrafted. Still, Pace has 4.6 speed and flies around the field making plays.
Here's the scouting report from The Athletic's Dane Brugler:
With his sheriff’s mentality and recognition skills, Pace trusts what he sees and runs around the field like my toddler on a sugar buzz after a weekend at grandma’s house. Although his frenetic play will take him out of plays at times, he is scrappy, strong and competes like a UFC fighter. Overall, Pace is undersized and faces questions about his ability as an every-down player in the NFL, but he is instinctive with the play speed, urgency and contact balance to consistently affect the game with his effort. His exact NFL position fit will be different from scheme to scheme, but it will be important for him to carve out a role on special teams to secure a roster spot.
Army OLB Andre Carter II
This is another notable one. Carter is a 6'6" edge rusher with long arms who posted great agility scores at his pro day. In 2021, he had 15.5 sacks, second-most in the country behind Will Anderson Jr., this year's No. 3 overall pick. Carter had just 3.5 sacks last year while missing a couple games due to injury. If he can add mass and power to his frame, he could have some NFL upside.
Brugler gave Carter a 5th/6th round grade. His scouting report:
A stretched-out, fluid athlete, Carter uses his long strides to burst off the ball and challenge the edge with his arc acceleration. He displays the speed and motor to chase down ball carriers, but he needs to get stronger at the point of attack and develop his body power (as a rusher and run stopper). Overall, Carter will require time in an NFL strength program and needs to learn how to deal with extra attention from blockers, but he is an agile athlete with terrific length and effort, which is a great foundation for a developing pass rusher. He has down-the-road potential and will require a patient staff who can mold his game.
Illinois DT Calvin Avery
A 6'1", 345-pound nose tackle, Avery visited the Vikings during the pre-draft process. The fifth-year senior had seven tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble in his Illinois career.
Baylor TE Ben Sims
Sims is an athletic 6'4" tight end with 4.58 speed, a strong ten-yard split (Kwesi Adofo-Mensah loves those), and good explosiveness. 8.40 Relative Athletic Score. Sims had 76 catches for 780 yards and 14 total touchdowns over the past three seasons. Per Brugler, Sims "is a balanced athlete with steady hands, but he isn’t a threat after the catch and needs to turn his losses into stalemates as an NFL blocker."
Georgia K Jack Podlesny
For the third straight year, the Vikings are bringing in an undrafted rookie kicker to compete with Greg Joseph. It was Riley Patterson — who is now the Jaguars No. 1 kicker — in 2021 and Gabe Brkic last year. This year, it's Podlesny from the back-to-back national champions. He was Brugler's fourth-ranked kicker this year; the top three all got drafted.
Over the last three seasons, Podlesny went 61 of 74 on field goals (82.4 percent) and 182 of 184 on extra points (99 percent). He got $15,000 guaranteed from the Vikings.
Oklahoma CB C.J. Coldon
Coldon spent his fifth college season at Oklahoma after four years at Wyoming and led the Sooners with four interceptions. In 2021 at Wyoming, he had 10 passes defended and 4.5 tackles for loss. Coldon is undersized and has just a 3.92 RAS, but his explosiveness stands out.
Indiana CB Jaylin Williams
Williams, another undersized corner, spent five seasons at IU and finished his career with 6 INTs, 24 passes defended, and 6.5 tackles for loss. He's a nickel option at 5'9" who has 4.45 speed.
North Carolina State WR Thayer Thomas
Thomas was a consistent medium producer for NC State over his five seasons, finishing with a career 215/2,484/24 receiving line in nearly 60 games. He also returned punts during his entire college career, averaging 9.7 yards per return with one touchdown. 7.85 RAS.
Marshall ILB Abraham Beauplan
Beauplan had 23 tackles for loss and five forced fumbles over the past three years at Marshall. He also had an interception and three passes defended last season. Beauplan made Bruce Feldman's Freaks list prior to the 2022 campaign, reportedly running in the high 4.5s, vertical-jumping 37 inches, squatting 565 and benching 385. He's a 5'11", 240-pound inside linebacker.
The rest of the class:
- Cincinnati ILB Wilson Huber
- Note: 6'4" LB with an 8.34 RAS. Pace's teammate at Cincy.
- Southeastern Louisiana WR Cephus Johnson
- 6'4" college QB switching to WR
- Kansas State WR Malik Knowles
- Note: 21 career TDs: 14 receiving, 4 rushing, 3 kick return
- Georgia Southern CB Najee Thompson
- Note: 11 passes defended last season
- TCU IOL Alan Ali
- Pace OT Jacky Chen
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