MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings are still putting the finishing touches on their 2015 class of undrafted free agents, and will announce the entire group in the next few days. After the Minnesota Football Honors banquet in Minneapolis on Sunday night, however, general manager Rick Spielman confirmed the Vikings' undrafted free agent class will include Virginia safety Anthony Harris, Old Dominion quarterback Taylor Heinicke, BYU wide receiver Jordan Leslie, Tennessee cornerback Justin Coleman and Notre Dame wide receiver DeVaris Daniels.
The Vikings will begin their rookie camp on Friday, and Spielman said the team will bring in close to 50 additional players for tryouts, on top of their 10 draft picks and their undrafted free agent class, which Spielman estimated would be around 10 players. The Vikings can only sign five players before hitting the league's 90-contract limit, and will cut some fringe players to get additional undrafted free agents on their roster. But Spielman said the undrafted free agent class will be smaller than usual this year, because the Vikings wanted to give larger signing bonuses to several players, rather than spread their bonus money thinly across more of the group.
Each NFL team gets $86,957 to award in signing bonuses for undrafted free agents. The largest bonus the Vikings gave last year was $8,000, to wide receiver Kain Colter. But as the college free agent market gets more competitive, the Vikings started targeting players like Harris and Heinicke earlier this year, inviting them to their top-30 prospects event last month.
"By us targeting potential guys that could be drafted late, or could be free agents, that helps build that rapport with the players," Spielman said. "They get to know our coaches, they get to know our building. When you're competing sometimes in that free agent market, it's like, 'Hey, did anyone else bring you in on a top-30?' Half of our top-30 [event] is free agent guys. Some of those guys might not have gone to the combine, but in order for us to draft them, we want to make sure we get a physical on those guys."
Harris, in particular, stood out to the Vikings; the 6-foot-1 safety looked like he could be a late-round pick, but wasn't able to work out much before the draft because of a shoulder injury. "He's a pretty good player," Spielman said. "Sometimes [the injury] causes guys to slide, but that's why we brought him in on a top-30 visit, as well. I'd rather take our resources, spend it on quality and get those guys in."
