Kevin O’Connell praises Vikings rookie showing out on special teams and how it can land him a starting role
Special teams make special teams.
When you are selected outside of the top 100 in the NFL Draft, there is an expectation that you play special teams. One of the biggest roles on special teams is the gunner on punt coverage teams. Getting down the field and pressuring the punt returner is a major factor.
It’s not the most important role, but special teams make special teams. That’s what the Minnesota Vikings have on their punt coverage teams. Two years ago, NaJee Thompson wowed everyone with his performance as a gunner, and this year, third-round pick Tai Felton has stepped up in a big way.
Tai Felton wowing on special teams
When the Vikings took Felton with the 102nd pick and the final one on day two of the 2025 NFL Draft, it was a bit of a surprise. He has gamebreaking speed, but needs some refinement with the technical aspects of his game to get refined.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about his performance on special teams and, per usual, O’Connell gave a very well thought out answer.
“Yeah, first and foremost, I loved how he’s attacked it. He’s truly been one of the more dynamic players, specifically at that gunner position in football,” said O’Connell. I think that comes down to what that rep is. In a lot of ways, I’ve tried to get him to look at it as if he’s a receiver beating press coverage. So every time he takes that rep, hopefully it’s having a down-the-line impact on him playing wide receiver as well. And we’ve kind of already seen that show up, whether it’s on the practice field or in his one catch that did not get the first down last week, even though he signaled first down, it was a good learning moment for him. Always see the sticks but, but no, I couldn’t be happier with where he’s at. And we just happen to have at this point for you know guys we consider starters in the room, and then him and Myles are really serving huge roles, but not directly related to offensive football now, but their time is certainly coming, and they just got to keep working behind the scenes to be ready to go.”
You can see in the above clip what kind of gunner Felton is. He understands how to attack the opposition and uses his excellent speed to create the necessary separation. Of Ryan Wright’s 16 punts, there have been 10 fair catches (most in the NFL) and only 9.2 yards per return (10th in the NFL).
Where things get really interesting is how it translates to playing the receiver position. O’Connell made it clear that the things you do as a gunner translate to playing receiver. You have to figure out how to release cleanly off the line of scrimmage, and that’s the biggest aspect of route running. Once you get into the route, if you can maintain that separation, you can win across the board.
The idea with Felton is that he will be able to step up in the WR3 role next year when Jalen Nailor likely moves on in free agency. Right now, he’s playing well in what the Vikings are asking of him, and there is still a lot of room to grow.
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