Vikings Express Interest in Reinforcements from a Huge Playmaker

Have said it before, will say it again: actions speak louder than words in a place like the NFL. To that end, the Vikings expressing interest in a new playmaker is noteworthy.

The update arrives courtesy of The Star Tribune’s Emily Leiker: “Syracuse TE Oronde Gadsden II visited the Vikings at TCO Performance Center in Eagan last week, per source. Of note: Gadsden is good friends with Vikings OLB Dallas Turner. Grew up playing football in South Florida together.”

Vikings Express Interest in New Playmaker at TE

Start off with the now obvious issue: the Vikings are working with a roster that has a very good TE1 (tip of the cap to T.J. Hockenson), a very good TE2 (tip of the cap to Josh Oliver), and … no one at TE3.

Indeed, the position needs depth. The high-end talent is present — Hockenson is one of the best pass catching tight ends on the planet; Oliver is one of the best blocking tight ends on the planet — but there does need to be a major infusion of depth. At the very least, two or three more options need to be added.

Keep in mind, as well, that the two tight ends who are on the roster are a touch older, with Hockenson coming in at 27 and Oliver coming in at 28. Infusing the TE room with a bit of youth therefore makes some sense, even if the youngster(s) needs a bit of time to figure it all out. That’s the benefit of having high-end options at the top of the hierarchy.

The 21-year-old playmaker stands at 6’5″ and weighs 236 pounds, meaning he has good length for the position but has room to keep building up his body. Last year, Gadsden played in thirteen games for Syracuse, piling up 73 catches, 934 yards, and 7 touchdowns (he had a healthy 12.8 yards-per-reception average). As a bonus, the tight end took a single carry for 12 rushing yards.

The 2023 season appears to have been undone by injury — he only got involved in a pair of games — but the 2022 season featured similarly impressive numbers. In thirteen games, Gadsden turned 61 catches into an explosive 975 yards (16.0 yards-per-catch average) and 6 touchdowns.

If Oronde Gadsden II can come anywhere close to those numbers in the NFL — somewhere around 60/70 catches, something around 800+ receiving yards, and 6 or more touchdowns — then some team will be very happy with their selection. After all, we’re talking about someone who is projected to fly off the board late.

Indeed, the fine folks at PFF drop him down to 248th on their board, writing, “Gadsden is intriguing due to being a potential size mismatch as a big slot receiver, but his blocking impact is a net negative, and his lack of agility resulted in low separation rates. He will likely be a late Day 3 pick or an undrafted free agent for an offense that likes his size.”

Consider the word on the NFL’s website, courtesy of Lance Zierlein: “Receiver-to-tight-end convert who comes from NFL bloodlines. Gadsden is more of a big slot receiver than a pass-catching tight end. He gets hung up on press coverage and won’t outrange NFL man coverage downfield, but his wingspan gives him a distinct advantage at the catch stage. He creates throwing windows when he’s allowed to stay on the move and he battles for contested catches. He needs to get stronger and become a little more competitive as a blocker but there’s enough receiving talent for him to be picked on Day 3 of the draft.”

The fascinating detail from Zierlein — one that doesn’t get included in the quote — is that the analyst assigns a 4th Round grade on the tight end. In other words, there is some disagreement about where he should get picked (in the 4th, per the NFL writer; in the 7th, per PFF) while coming to similar conclusions about strengths and weaknesses.

The Vikings are working with a four draft selections. The opening pair — No. 24 and No. 97 — are too high for the tight end. Do the final pair — No. 139 or No. 187 — make sense when it comes to turning the tight end with pass-catching potential into a Viking?

Of course, there is the option to trade down, snagging more Day 3 draft picks. Doing so would make a move for the tight end more likely.

The 2025 NFL Draft gets going on Thursday, April 24th and will conclude on Saturday, April 26th. Afterwards, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah seems very likely to get aggressive yet again with adding UDFA talent.

Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Sports Reference CFB helped with this piece.

K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.