Inside The Vikings

New video documents Tai Felton's emotional draft wait, call from Vikings

Felton had a long wait before Minnesota finally called late on Day 2 of this year's draft.

Will Ragatz

Sep 21, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins wide receiver Tai Felton (10) in action before a game against the Villanova Wildcats at SECU Stadium.
Sep 21, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins wide receiver Tai Felton (10) in action before a game against the Villanova Wildcats at SECU Stadium. / Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
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Tai Felton needed a moment.

It was the second night of the 2025 NFL draft, and dozens of friends and family members were gathered around the former Maryland wide receiver. Hours had passed without Felton hearing his name called. The second round was in the books and the third round was coming to a close. So he excused himself from the party for a bit and went to go sit in his car.

"I'll be right back," he said. "Yeah, I'm good."

"I believe he was praying," said his mom, Shannon Felton, who was forming plans on what she'd say to the gathered crowd if the night ended without Tai being picked. "But I also believe he turned it around: 'My name is getting called tonight.'"

Shortly after Felton returned to the house, it finally happened. His phone rang. It was the Minnesota Vikings, calling to tell him they were taking him with the 102nd pick — the final selection of the night. The crowd tried to contain its excitement during the phone call, then erupted when former Vikings tight end Stu Voigt announced the pick on TV.

"We could not have had a better ending," Shannon said. "I'd do it all over again for that ending."

That draft-night scene is documented in a recent 15-minute video, "The Tai Felton Story," posted by Maryland Football. It also chronicles other parts of his football journey, from his childhood in Virginia to tearing his ACL in high school and why he decided to play for Mike Locksley at Maryland.

It's worth a watch.

The Vikings are very excited about Felton's speed and playmaking ability in their offense. He broke out with 96 catches, 1,124 yards, and 9 touchdowns last year as a senior for the Terrapins, then ran a 4.38 40 and jumped nearly 40 inches in the vertical at the NFL combine. He figures to start out as a special teams contributor and rotational player on offense, with the possibility to develop into a productive complementary wide receiver if he continues to hone his route-running chops.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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