The Vikings opened up their rookie camp on Friday, which includes a group of 10 undrafted free agents.
Most of the time, these players are afterthoughts, and sometimes rightfully so. They were undrafted for a reason.
But Vikings coach Mike Zimmer had an encouraging message for them on the first day.
“First of all, I told them last night, every year we sign somebody from here, whether it be Adam Thielen or Chad Beebe or Marcus Sherels, the list goes on and on,” Zimmer said Friday. “Really what I told them last night is that we’re looking for guys that number one are good people, and number two, they have to have athletic ability. Come out and do what they’re being coached to do. Like I remember last year with Beebe, you could see him right away with his athleticism and the way he never slowed down when he was running a route. I think it’s a little bit different for each position.”
It’s always fun watching undrafted players outperform expectations. Thielen is the obvious case, but Beebe has a chance to be the team’s No. 3 receiver this season.
There will be someone out of this group who’ll make the team. Zimmer and his coaching staff will probably have a good idea of who that will be after the first weekend of rookie practice.
