Minnesota Vikings UDFA is turning heads, has organization excited during training camp

The Minnesota Vikings have made the NFL Draft a priority over the last two years. Some of their picks have been earmarked for star tight end T.J. Hockenson but they focused their resources to make the best of their limited selections.

One area where the Vikings have done a great job over the last two years is the undrafted free-agent process. Dubbed by NFL Draft expert Thor Nystrom as the "dessert draft," the Vikings have put in a lot of effort and resources in trying to identify players who have fallen through the cracks.

Last year, the Vikings identified inside linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. and he was a fantastic get for the Vikings, including becoming a starter during his rookie year.

This season, the Vikings believe that Gabriel Murphy could be their next Pace. Darren Wolfson of SKOR North discussed it on the latest scoop session of the M ackey and Judd podcast .

"How is he not drafted? I can tell you, privately, there's a lot of positivity about Murphy. There really is, even before the last week plus, like, going back to rookie mini camp, OTAs mini camp, a lot of people in Eagan are excited about Gabrielle Murphy. I don't know how he wasn't a fourth round pick or a fifth round pick that one is odd to me, but yes, he has continued to impress. I mean, we think about this time last year, you know, speaking about Ivan pace, Jr, making all these plays, it looks like Ivan's got a bright future. He's starting to think we can start having those conversations about Gabriel Murphy."

Murphy not getting drafted was a big surprise, but there was also a reason for it. He came into the draft with a major deficiency: 30.5" arm length. The athleticism, production and the rest of his size profile were excellent but having extremely short arms is brutal.

If you can't get inside on an offensive lineman, that can completely wash you out of a play. So far during camp, there haven't been many issues of that, especially with his ability to dip underneath the blocker.

Will he be the next great addition for the Vikings? We will soon find out, but the early reports are good.