Vikings Claim Former Jaguars Tight End Ben Ellefson on Waivers
In the wake of the news that starting tight end Irv Smith Jr. will likely miss the entire 2021 season, the Vikings have now added multiple TEs to their roster to rebuild their depth at that key position.
On Tuesday, they traded with the Jets for Chris Herndon, and one day later, they have claimed former Jaguars UDFA Ben Ellefson on waivers.
Update: the Vikings announced that they have waived DE Jalyn Holmes to make room for Ellefson on the active roster.
Ellefson is a native of Hawley, MN, a small town in Northwestern Minnesota. He attended North Dakota State, which is just 30 minutes west of his hometown. Ellefson shined as a blocker and red zone threat at NDSU, winning three FCS championships in four seasons as part of that current dynasty.
In his final three seasons, Ellefson recorded 35 catches, 463 receiving yards, and 16 touchdowns. That means 46 percent of his career receptions went for TDs. In 2018, eight of his 14 catches resulted in scores.
After going undrafted in 2020, the 6'3", 250-pound Ellefson was signed by the Jaguars. He bounced between the practice squad and the active roster as a rookie, playing 133 snaps in the regular season and catching one pass for ten yards. He was placed on injured reserve in early December, ending his season.
Per KSTP's Darren Wolfson, the Vikings had interest in signing Ellefson after the 2020 draft. Now they've got him after the Jaguars didn't put him on their initial 53-man roster Tuesday.
The Vikings' top tight end is Tyler Conklin, but it remains to be seen how the depth chart will shake out after that. Herndon is expected to be the No. 2 option, but it'll take him some time to get up to speed on the playbook. Brandon Dillon and Ellefson will be involved in the competition as well, although the same playbook caveat applies to Ellefson. Rookie Zach Davidson is a candidate for the practice squad, but fellow cut Shane Zylstra was signed to the Lions' practice squad.
Herndon is the big move at tight end to help fill the void left by Smith's injury, but claiming Ellefson gives the Vikings some additional depth and blocking ability.
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