Minnesota Vikings Sign Former Auburn Tigers Punter as UDFA
It appears the Minnesota Vikings are slowly building the pipeline from the Auburn Tigers. Most recently, they have added former Tigers’ punter Oscar Chapman. They have signed four undrafted free agents that were previously playing on the Plains a season ago. Alongside him, they have also added wide receiver Robert Lewis, linebacker Dorian Mausi and linebacker Austin Keys. It is the most Tiger addition of any NFL team.
Chapman spent his entire collegiate career on the Plains. His career lasted five years and was quite fruitful from the perspective of a punter. The Aussie punter was able to use his COVID year granted to him from his first season with the Tigers and have a fifth season.
During his five-year career with the Tigers, Chapman played in 59 games. He punted 243 times over those years, accumulating 10,573 punting yards. That is an average of 43.5 yards per punt. His farthest punt was a 61-yard punt in his junior season.
As he heads to Minnesota, Chapman may have the best chance of making it on the 53-man roster. Teams very rarely spend draft picks on specialists unless it is a dire need. In this past draft, only four specialists were drafted (kickers, punters or long-snappers). An additional 10 have been signed as undrafted free agents so far since the close of the draft, including Chapman.
Currently, the Vikings’ punter is Ryan Wright. Wright has played his entire career with Minnesota. His contract is worth up to $2 million with incentives. The Vikings could be bringing in Chapman to challenge Wright for the starting punter spot this upcoming fall. With Chapman also being an Aussie-styled punter, it could be the style that the Vikings are going for. Wright is not that style of punter.
For reference, an Aussie punter values distance with their punts rather than height. Traditional punters are more balanced, but might not get as much distance with each punt. Five of the 32 starting punters in the NFL are Australian and the number could rise. This position battle will be one to watch as the Vikings could be punting a bit more with J.J. McCarthy leading the team in 2025.
