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Week 2 of free agency has concluded, and the Vikings, again, remained off the radar. The team made a few moves, one that will bring an instant impact to the special teams unit. Let’s do a deep dive of the latest moves.
The Vikings have kept the positioning of this free agency period as reducing the roster age and cap hits, and focusing on building through the draft. Week 2 did not bring any surprises, but a couple of moves were made that will bring big benefits to the team in 2026.
Johnny Hekker
Entering year 15 of his NFL career, Johnny Hekker reunites with Kevin O’Connell, where they spent time together in Los Angeles as a part of the Rams from 2020 to 2022. Although their stint was short, it resulted in a Lombardi, something that they will hope to recreate in Minnesota.
Johnny Hekker has been in the NFL since 2012, joining the St. Louis Rams as a Undrafted Free Agent. He was with the Rams for 10 seasons, and was one of, if not, the best punters in the league. During his tenure as a Ram, he was a:
- 4x All-Pro
- 4x Pro Bowler
He averaged over 47 yards per punt as a Ram, and they were considered one of the best special teams units in the league.
After he departed from LA, he was picked up by Carolina for three seasons, where in 2022, averaged a career high of 48.5 yards per punt. However, after 2022, his numbers have started to decline slightly. At the end of the 2024 season, his contract expired and he joined the Tennessee Titans for the 2025 season.
Since he left the Rams, his title of “elite” may not be legitimate anymore, but he is still considered a good-to-great punter.
As I mentioned before, his stats are on the decline, and he has seen decreases in:
- Total yards per punt
- Net yards per punt
- Touchback %
However, he is still playing at a good level. Although he’s not the same guy he once was, he still has the leg strength to easily flip the field, and is still pinning opponents inside their own 20 at an average rate.
He does have big shoes to fill after Ryan Wright left and signed a 4-year contract with the New Orleans Saints. Wright had a career year in 2025, where he averaged a booming 49 yards per kick, and had a 25% success rate of pinning of opponent inside their own 20.
One area that Hekker may unlock, that the Vikings haven’t leveraged often, is the fake kick game. Hekker has been a successful passed on fake kicks:
We’ll probably only see one, maybe two at the most, fake kick attempts this season, but Matt Daniels having this in his back pocket should be fun.
The Vikings special teams unit was solid last season, outside of the 23 penalties against, and should see improvements with another year of Will “The Thrill” Reichard, Johnny Hekker, and Andrew DePaolo highlighting the unit.
Myles Price should see an improvement in his stats and efficiency, especially if penalties are reduced in the return game in 2026. The Vikings also added James Pierre last week, who has been a strong ST contributor in Pittsburgh.
This is an important year for Matt Daniels, who has been under heat since last Fall, and was retained on KOC’s staff for another season. Hekker brings a veteran presence that should keep the punt team strong and allow more focus on reducing penalties and scheming up better kick coverage & return opportunities.
I also expect the Vikings to bring in a UDFA punter to develop, and potentially compete with Hekker. Anyone learning from a former multi All-Pro would greatly benefit, and Hekker will bring fantastic value, even if a rookie comes in and competes, and wins the job over summer.
Ryan Van Demark
Meet this behemoth of a man who will be the new swing tackle for the Vikings. For those questioning what a swing tackle is: it’s the backup offensive tackle who can fill in for both tackle slots, and still perform at a strong level.
RVD officially joined the Vikings on Friday, once the Bills announced that they will not match the 1-year, $4.2m contract that he received from Minnesota. He was a Restricted Free Agent, after four seasons in Buffalo, and the Bills had up to five days, after he formally signed with the Vikings, to decide if they wanted match and retain him.
During his tenure in Buffalo, he started a total of six games, and made most of his appearances on the special teams unit on the protection units. In 2025, he started four games, and was a solid contributor:
Many Bills fans and writers wrote highly about RVD, and many were bummed to see him go. There were a lot of remarks about him earning the opportunity to be a starter. While he may not get that opportunity with Minnesota, he will still play an important role, especially in an o-line room that has struggled to stay healthy as of late.
Just turning 28 today, RVD is a strong get by Rob and the front office to find insurance behind their two major investments. Since 2024, Darrisaw and O’Neill have missed a total of 27 games, with some overlapping each other. RVD brings a strong presence to fill in and help alleviate any gaps if one of the two miss any time in 2026.
While it was never officially mentioned publicly, Vikings insiders were under the impression that the team could make a move to find insurance for the upcoming season, and this move proves that point. The Vikings may not be done, either, as it appears they are doing additional legwork on the tackle draft prospects.
RVD grades better as a run blocker, and at 6’7″ 307 Ibs, he is a massive human being on the line. An underrated aspect of this signing is his pass blocking experience, especially with a QB who has tendencies to move around, or just move, the pocket at any time during a down.
While Kyler isn’t Josh Allen, they have similar game improviser play styles, where they look to extend plays and move around, causing additional pressure on offensive lineman to block their assignment without fully knowing where the QB landing point is. With RVD being in Buffalo with Josh Allen as his QB, he will bring valuable insight about getting reset in pass blocks in extended plays, and reducing holding penalties when d-lineman disengage when the pocket shifts.
Some may argue that RVD has limited experience with actually playing with Allen, but he has been in the room getting coached on techniques and strategies, and has learned behind two great tackles in Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown. Just sharing that knowledge will help the whole o-line room, and Keith Carter should lean on RVD if Kyler does end up winning the job.
The other impact here is what this may signal for Blake Brandel, and his role this year. Brandel started at center when Ryan Kelly was out with injury, and this may signal belief in him being in play to start there again this season.
I believe that Brandel was going to compete to start at center this year, and I expect that competition to really begin post-draft, as this center class is deep and the Vikings may look to bring in a Day 2 pick as a long-term answer. Nonetheless, having RVD at tackle, and Brandel/rookie at swing interior lineman is a good investment to reduce any volatility in the upcoming season.
Carson Wentz
The Vikings now employ two quarterbacks who grew up as fans of the team. Carson Wentz is back, and helps vastly improve a thin QB room from ’25.
Carson Wentz re-signed with the Vikings Thursday morning, presumably as the QB3, but could be QB2 depending on how the starting competition pans out. Wentz played well in his five appearances last year, especially considering he played two-and-a-half games while dealing with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. He suffered the injury in London, when the Vikings beat the Cleveland Browns in his third start.
In those five starts, Wentz had:
- 1,216 yards
- 6 touchdowns
- 5 interceptions
- 85.8 rating
He also went 2-3 during that stretch, and the team, especially the offense, seemed to be stabilizing after a volatile start to the year. He wasn’t perfect, but no backup QB is. He did exactly what he needed to stabilize the situation the Vikings were in.
Wentz isn’t the same player he was in 2017, when he was the MVP front-runner before going down with a torn ACL. However, he has been a backup for the past few seasons, including a stint in Kansas City behind Patrick Mahomes, and can be viewed as one of the better QB3s in the league if that’s where he ends up this year.
He brings a stable floor, as you know what you will get from him, and that’s exactly what you want from a backup QB. He also has the history, shared by the other QBs in the room, of being a 1st round pick, and how to deal with that additional pressure and develop.
Wentz is able to play well within structure, and he meshed well with the KOC system last year. The Vikings offense has the superstars, but the play call is the most important piece of the puzzle, and Wentz was able to get the ball to the right reads at a decent clip. Last year, Wentz proved he can elevate the offense and raise its floor. He may not be able to lift the ceiling, but he is able to deliver the ball on-time to the correct reads most of the time.
He does have moments that leave fans scratching their heads, including missing layup throws or getting through progressions too quickly and missing a bigger opportunity. He will put the ball up for grabs here and there, but that is part of the gun slinger, my guy is better than your guy, mentality.
All in all, this is the most talented QB room the Vikings have had go through a full off-season with, and could rival the room the Vikings had at the end of 2024. Each guy, besides Max Brosmer, are former Top-10 draft picks. Each have had ups and downs throughout their career at this point, and the spotlight will be bright on the room by local, and national, reporters as they closely follow the competition.
With the talent in the room, and the questions that remain on who leads the team on snap one, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see HBO come to Eagan to feature the team on Hard Knocks.
Personally, I’d enjoy a closer look at the team and competition, especially with the changes coming to the FO later in Summer. I know it’s not for everyone, and some may say it’s distracting, but it would be a fun inside lens as we all track and monitor every training camp and practice rep throughout July and August.
Final Thoughts
Another relatively quiet week may have some fans frustrated or concerned so far. I even ran a poll on X where “meh” and “need more moves” were by far the biggest answer:
Personally, I am content with this off-season so far. Getting Kyler Murray last week, and making small, non-Earth shattering additions is exactly the off-season the team needs, especially one that doesn’t have a long-term GM appointed yet. This also shows the team is switching gears and looking to build and grow through the draft, something I have been asking for the last few season.
We had our fun last year with the signing of multiple veterans, and with almost all but Isaiah Rodgers gone, it was never going to be a massive spending year. As of right now, the Vikings have about $9m in cap space, which more than likely will be reserved for the upcoming draft class.
With that being said, next week should be another quiet week in terms of moves, but we should start seeing Top-30 visits and Pro Day news, which will show what positions the team is focusing on with the draft. Or is it all a smoke screen? We’ll see soon.
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Skol To Go 
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