Who is Mr. Mankato? Minnesota Vikings training camp award has a long, storied history
The Mr. Mankato award has been given out after training camp for the last 12 years with some interesting results.
If you are a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, then you know about the Mr. Mankato award.
The Mr. Mankato Award, which started when training camp was held in Mankato, was founded by Judd Zulgad and Phil Mackey of SKOR North back in 2014 to recognize a player who is a rookie drafted in the third round or later or a lesser-known player who has yet to break out with the threshold at 100 snaps on offense or defense.
The spirit of the award is giving it to someone who stands out who doesn’t have the cache of other players on the roster. Within its history, there are some interesting details.
History of Mr. Mankato
There have been 12 winners of the award, with one of them being unofficial in 2021.
| Year | Player |
| 2014 | WR Adam Thielen |
| 2015 | WR Stefon Diggs |
| 2016 | S Jayron Kearse |
| 2017 | EDGE Tashawn Bower |
| 2018 | QB Kyle Sloter |
| 2019 | TE Brandon Dillon |
| 2020 | CB Cam Dantzler |
| 2021 | WR K.J. Osborn (unofficial) |
| 2022 | LB Brian Asamoah II |
| 2023 | LB Ivan Pace Jr. |
| 2024 | WR Jalen Nailor |
| 2025 | QB Max Brosmer |
Over the 12 years, there have been seven winners on offense and five on defense. Of those on offense, five have been pass catchers. The first two winners of the award, Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, gave the Vikings a dynamic pass catching duo for five years, which isn’t something that you normally get from players who were a UDFA and fifth-round pick.
Outside of them, the Vikings have found some intriguing players. Pace was a real contributor and starter as a rookie, Dantzler was a starter early on as well, and Nailor just signed a big free agent deal with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Later this week, I’ll reveal my top picks for Mr. Mankato, as we have some really interesting options for the award.
