Maryland WR Shaleak Knotts Signs With Minnesota Vikings
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For the second straight year, the Minnesota Vikings are bringing in the Maryland Terrapins' leading receiver.
Last spring, the Vikings drafted Tai Felton in the 3rd Round (102nd overall) following a thousand yard campaign in College Park. This time, they signed a Terp who went undrafted: 6'3" North Carolina native Shaleak Knotts.
Former Maryland WR Shaleak Knotts is planning to sign with the Minnesota Vikings, @blakerosenberg1 of @_mavericksports tells me
— Ahmed Ghafir (@ghafirtheturtle) April 25, 2026
Former four-star out of North Carolina who posted 717 receiving yards and six TDs in 2025 @agent_Leeyard pic.twitter.com/ddTYBG4PEO
Kotts was a major recruiting win for the Terrapins in 2022, as he chose them over a massive list of offers which included Georgia, Penn State, Tennessee, and both UNC and NC State.
His college career got off to a slow start, with a combined 12 receptions for 130 yards between his freshman and sophomore seasons - including one catch in each of the Terps' bowl games.
But Knotts began to break out as an upperclassman. He made his first career start October 11 of 2024, and two weeks later, Knotts recorded his first career touchdown reception - in Minnesota, appropriately enough.
Then as a senior, everything finally clicked into place. Knotts scored touchdowns in each of the first four games - all Terps victories - and finished the year with a team-high 717 yards and six TDs.
Overall, Knotts finished his Maryland career with 67 catches for 958 yards and 7 touchdowns. Here are some highlights from his time in the DMV:
He'll enter an interesting situation in Minnesota, with former No. 1 pick Kyler Murray battling ex National Champion J.J. McCarthy for the starting QB spot. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison make one of the premier one-two receiver punches in the league, and the Vikings also have T.J. Hockenson as one of the better receiving tight ends out there.
That said, Minnesota severely lacked receiving depth last year, and coupled with poor QB play, they finished 29th out of 32 teams with only 166.7 passing yards per game. Whoever ends up under center will need to have significantly more success for a chance to return to the playoffs.
Knotts is one of three undrafted Maryland players to be picked up so far - the other two are WR Octavian Smith, who is staying close with the Baltimore Ravens, and OL Alan Herron, who is heading to the New Orleans Saints.
Meanwhile, DB Jalen Huskey finished off day two of the Draft, being selected 100th overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Combined with the large group of Terps who played professionally last year, there are now 29 active Maryland alumni in the NFL.
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Mike joined Maryland On SI with over four years of sportswriting experience. He started off his career in Syracuse on the Orange football beat, where he was featured on CBS Sports' Cover 3 Podcast and local ESPN sports talk radio. After that, he had a brief stint reporting on Major League Baseball before returning to college sports.
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