Tershawn Wharton Is the Kind Of Low-Risk, High-Reward Player the Vikings Need

Though our collective eyes gaze wantingly upon shiny objects in 2025 free agency, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has always done his best work along the margins. Players acquired in the second and third waves of free agency have been serious contributors to success over the past few seasons. Many of these are players that the average fan hadn’t heard of before they donned the purple.

Tershawn Wharton would firmly fall into that bucket if he were not a multiple-time Super Bowl champion.

The Minnesota Vikings have a lot of cap space, but they also have a lot of pending free agents they must consider retaining. Minnesota has the most “outgoing” 2024 snaps in the league, with players like Byron Murphy Jr, Cam Bynum, and Harrison Smith, among others, set to hit free agency

Therefore, players like Milton Williams and Osa Odighizuwa may have priced themselves out of Minnesota, especially if bidding wars ensue like the Christian Wilkins sweepstakes last season. The price tag of premium free-agent defensive tackles relative to other positions has skyrocketed in the last couple of offseasons. It is now a much better value proposition to draft three-down players on the interior.

If the Vikings shy away from the top-tier interior defenders in free agency, given the depth of the position in the draft (41 defensive tackles were invited to the NFL Combine), Wharton could be an intriguing rotational option. The best pass rushes in the league have great depth, and Wharton would provide that while competing for multiple roles with incumbent players.

In 2020, Wharton entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Division II Missouri S&T. Because he’s relatively undersized as a defensive tackle, it took gaudy statistics and undeniable tape for him to find his way onto an NFL roster, joining only three other Missouri S&T alumni who’ve made the league. He is still the school’s all-time leader in sacks and tackles for loss. Without participating in a pro day or the Combine, he caught the eye of a Kansas City scout and made the team as a rookie.

Since Wharton burst onto the scene as a valuable part of their defensive line rotation, KC hasn’t been able to quit him. He has been signed to two one-year deals in 2023 and 2024 after his rookie contract expired and enters this year’s offseason seeking the biggest payday of his career. Luckily for potential suitors, that isn’t a particularly high bar to clear. He played the 2024 season on a fully guaranteed $2.7 million deal. As he enters his age 27 season, something like two years, $12 million sounds extremely reasonable for both sides. Wharton could just as easily be a one-year flyer deal for the Vikings. Still, there would be some value in a multi-year contract as Wharton enters what should be his athletic prime.

The fifth-year man logged 33 pressures and seven sacks on 455 pass-rush snaps this season and immediately would add some juice to the interior pass rush. However, he’s no game-wrecker and is average to below-average as a run defender, so he would be strictly a rotational piece. Still, he would be an upgrade as part of that rotation and may be able to provide stouter run defense in sub packages than, say, Jihad Ward. He plays with a high motor and a solid bull rush that can generate the kind of quick pressure the Vikings sorely lacked last season.

Another highlight of his season was potentially saving the life of a young fan who fell over the edge of the stands as players exited the field following a win. The boy eagerly waved and gestured to the players, trying to get someone’s attention for an autograph before he tumbled over an area where there was no guard rail.

Wharton was already on his way to the boy, removing his game-worn gloves to give them to him. He acted quickly and caught the boy who was falling toward the turf head-first. Wharton then guided the young man in a Nick Bolton jersey back into the stands, where security helped him up. Wharton has spoken publicly about the incident and invited the boy to another game.

Just a little extra incentive to root for Tershawn to wind up on your favorite team.

At 6’1”, 280 lbs., Wharton is more of a 3- or 5-technique type of player who can penetrate in the run game but can’t hold his ground well enough to play inside the guards. While it’s unlikely he would win a starting spot in base defense given the run responsibilities therein, he’s the kind of versatile pass-rusher that Flores covets and surely could use. His only major injury was an ACL tear in 2022.

Wharton played 48% of snaps for the Kansas City defense this season, the highest rate since his rookie year, so he is used to the type of role he would play in Minnesota. The return on investment could be extremely high, especially if his price tag is on the lower end. He would be a low-risk, high-reward player Adofo-Mensah loves to buy low on. If Kansas City does not retain him, don’t be surprised if the Vikings are in the mix.