The Minnesota Vikings are known to have a slightly older roster compared to the rest of the teams in the NFL. They had the third-oldest team going into the 2024 season, but following the 2025 NFL Draft, the average age of the group has gone down to some extent.
Let’s analyze the top ten youngest active players on the Vikings’ roster, a list highlighted by quarterback J.J. McCarthy and offensive guard Donovan Jackson.
Meet the Vikings Top Ten Youngest Active Players
1. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Edge – Age 21
Ingram-Dawkins was selected 139th overall by the Vikings in the 2025 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and is coming off a career-best season in 2024, where he logged 17 tackles, 3.0 sacks, eight tackles for loss, and two pass breakups.
2. Gavin Bartholomew, TE – Age 22
Bartholomew is the second-youngest player on the Vikings roster for the 2025 season. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft and played college football for Pittsburgh. He started 41 games across his four years in college and totaled 104 receptions for 1,248 yards and 11 touchdowns.
3. Tai Felton, WR – Age 22
Felton was the 102nd overall pick of the Vikings in the 2025 NFL Draft. He is a speedy and explosive wide receiver with the ability to stretch the field and create separation. He has excellent acceleration and fluid route-running skills, making him a dangerous multi-level threat in any offensive scheme. He caught 96 passes for 1,124 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024.
4. Dallas Turner, DT – Age 22
Turner was the second first-round pick of the Vikings in the 2024 NFL Draft and had an impressive debut — one sack and three tackles — against the New York Giants in Week 1. However, that encouraging start didn’t translate over the regular season as Turner finished his rookie campaign with 20 total tackles, along with three sacks, one interception, and one pass defended.
5. Kobe King, LB – Age 22
King was selected 201st overall by the Vikings in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Penn State linebacker is coming off an impressive four-year collegiate career where he totaled 200 total tackles (113 solo), 18.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and four pass breakups.
6. J.J. McCarthy, QB – Age 22
McCarthy was selected 10th overall by the Vikings in the 2024 NFL Draft and is widely dubbed to be Minnesota’s franchise quarterback. However, he missed the entire rookie season due to a preseason injury and is now set to start in 2025. The team has veterans Sam Howell and Brett Rypien behind him on the depth chart.
7. Bryson Nesbit, TE, Age – 22
The Vikings signed Nesbit as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2025, and the 6-foot-5, 238-pound tight end has a good chance of making the team with his receiving skills. He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels where he registered career highs of 41 receptions for 585 yards and five touchdowns in 2023.
8. Donovan Jackson, G – Age – 22
Jackson was picked 24th overall by the Vikings in the 2025 NFL Draft following a dominant four-year college career for the five-star recruit at Ohio State. He started 31 games at left guard for the Buckeyes before moving over to left tackle for the final nine games, including a national championship run that opened evaluators’ eyes. Jackson’s ability to play tackle in a pinch is extremely valuable, and Minnesota couldn’t ignore that.
9. Dorian Mausi, LB – Age 23
Mausi was signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Vikings after the 2025 NFL Draft. He played for Duke and Auburn during a productive college career that saw him total 81 combined tackles (nine for loss), along with 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble in 2024.
10. Austin Keys, LB – Age 23
The Vikings scooped him up as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2025. He joins Minnesota after injury-riddled stints at Ole Miss and Auburn from 2020-24. He finished the 2024 season at Auburn with 39 combined tackles and two pass deflections. Keys had four sacks in 42 career games.