Former MN Vikings Tight End Off to LA

This offseason the Minnesota Vikings have been among the most active teams in free agency. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was armed with a sizable amount of open cap space and he’s used it to fill holes all over the roster, including the offensive line, defensive line, secondary, linebacker, running back and most recently, wide receiver.

One position they have not yet addressed is tight end, which arguably has more talent than it has ever been. T.J. Hockenson is a top weapon at the position and Josh Oliver is the best blocking tight end in football (he can catch too).

Before the tight ends currently on roster ever arrived, Tyler Conklin was on the depth chart from 2018-2021, after the Vikings drafted him in the 5th round of the 2018 NFL Draft, but moved on to the New York Jets prior to the 2022 season. Now he’s got a new team again, this time the Los Angeles Chargers.

Tyler Conklin signing with LA Chargers

Congrats Tyler Conklin agreeing to a 1 year deal with the @chargers @T_Conk1

— Mike McCartney (@MikeMcCartney7) March 21, 2025

Last season, playing with Aaron Rodgers and a disfunctional version of the New York Jets, Conklin was active for 16 games. He drew 15 starts and hauled in 51 passes for 449 yards. Rodgers looked to his veteran tight end plenty, and completed four touchdowns passes, which equaled the amount of times he found the end zone with Minnesota his entire career.

Related: Former MN Vikings DB Gushes Over JJ McCarthy

Tight end a focal point for Minnesota Vikings

This seasons the Minnesota Vikings will break in a young new quarterback in the form of J.J. McCarthy. He has been equipped with a new third wide receiver in the form of Rondale Moore. The offense needs as many weapons as they can get though, and even more so should Jordan Addison be suspended.

Another year removed from his knee injury, T.J. Hockenson is likely to be a focal part of the offense. Last season Hockenson played in ten games, drawing nine starts, and tallied 455 yards on 41 receptions. He didn’t find the end zone though and that was a sizable decrease from his five touchdowns the year prior.

Both Hockenson and Josh Oliver can contribute offensively for the Vikings. If each perform to their potential, then McCarthy will have underneath options that should serve him well. Conklin’s departure from the Jets leaves Jeremy Ruckert as the incumbent starter. The newly signed Justin Fields will be his quarterback.

Related: NFL Insider Refuses to Give Up on Aaron Rodgers to MN Vikings

If the Vikings aren’t going to add another big wideout option, then they’ll rely heavily on the big men from the line. Conklin is going to try and make that work with the Chargers.