Rookie Tai Felton is taking pride in his special teams role
The Vikings' third-round wide receiver is developing and contributing right away as a gunner
By Matthew Coller
EAGAN — When Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Tai Felton was in college at Maryland, he didn’t immediately become WR1. In fact, it wasn’t until his fourth year that he led the team in receiving. So throughout his college career, he spent plenty of time on special teams trying to work his way on the field any way he could. On punt coverage specifically, he picked up 101 total snaps as a Terrapin over the years.
The beginning of his NFL journey has followed the same path. Many third-round picks around the league get into the game as wide receivers right away but Felton was drafted to a team that had a bunch of established receivers and added another in Adam Thielen right before the start of the season. Just like he was able to develop his talents as a punt gunner in college, he finds himself doing it again in the pros.
And he’s thriving in that role.
Through three games, Felton has played 57 total special teams snaps and 16 of them have come as a punt gunner. He has made three tackles, forced several fair catches and scored a 72.9 PFF grade.
His efforts have not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.
“I love how he’s attacked it, he’s truly been one of the more dynamic players specifically at that gunner position in football,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said on Wednesday.
Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels has seen a particular edge to the way that the rookie has played, making him stand out at a position that often goes overlooked.
“I love the attitude that Tai Felton brings, and the energy,” Daniels said. “I think that is the biggest thing that you’re really getting out of him on game day that you might not see if you’re watching from the stands are on TV, I mean, this guy brings big time energy and attitude.”
That energy was on display from his first preseason game, where he went flying down the sideline and barreled into a unsuspecting returner and then got up and celebrated like he was Jonathan Greenard getting a sack or Justin Jefferson catching a touchdown.
Enthusiasm for special teams isn’t always something that you see from young players, says veteran punt gunner and top-notch special teamer Tavierre Thomas.
“When you are a guy like that and you get drafted that high, you’re not thinking you are coming in the league to play special teams but he’s embraced it,” Thomas told Purple Insider. “He knows his role and I feel like if he can get the opportunity to play on offense, whenever his number is called he is going to do the same thing he’s been doing on special teams. He’s doing everything the right way and that’s going to take you a long way in this league.”
Why has he embraced the role to the point of making a tangible impact on the punting game? In large part because he was encouraged by Maryland special teams coordinator James Thomas Jr. to help the team outside of the offense. And he was good at it, so he kept gunning even after he was making noise as a receiver.
“He really had me focus in on special teams and it helped me get those details of being an impact gunner,” Felton told Purple Insider. “I did it all four years in college, it definitely helped me in the transition to the league.”
Felton has enjoyed mastering the nuances of chasing punt returners at the highest level and learning the techniques that make it easier to get away from the defenders who are there to slow him down.
“There’s a lot of details,” Felton said. “It starts with your stance and how you come off the ball. That’s always going to be important. If you come off the ball fast, it’s hard to guard you. Using bicep hacks that [Matt Daniels] teaches us to swipe off [the defender]. It’s like playing karate out there sometimes.”
Playing the gunner role is certainly technical but it’s also not for the faint of heart. Veteran long snapper and special teams captain Andrew DePaola gives newbie gunners a speech every year before they try it for the first time at the NFL level.
“I tell those young guys when they get here in camp, ‘hey, out there it’s a fight, it’s a street fight,’” DePaola told Purple Insider. “They are pulling you, holding you, shoving you and doing whatever they can to keep you from getting down there. It’s usually 2-on-1 so it’s not going to be fair….[Felton] just looked at me and was like, ‘bring it on.’ Most young guys are like, ‘I got it, I got it,’ and then the first rep they’re like, ‘oh, I see what you mean now.’ From Day 1, [Felton] embraced it and took it as a challenge.”
The speedy receiver wanted all the smoke.
“It’s fun,” Felton said. “Receivers have a stereotype of being divas and stuff like that, playing gunner, I like doing it, so being that rookie that goes and makes that play, it gets everybody juiced up.”
Thomas noticed right away in training camp that Felton had something extra in the role that most players do not.
“It’s hard to stop him,” Thomas said. “I had to try to stop him in training camp and he gives me a run for my money and I’ve been doing it a long time. If he can do it to me, he can do it to anybody.”
Thus far, the Vikings rank No. 1 in total net punting yards and seventh in net yards per punt. DePaola says that Felton has been a big part of that success because his speed extends how far punter Ryan Wright can boot the ball.
“The value is huge,” DePaola said. “When you have a punter like Ryan who can put that ball up there with some hang time. There is a sweet spot. You don’t want to kick it too far, you don’t want to kick it too short. A guy like Tai lengthens that sweet spot because he’s so fast. If Ryan puts it up there with enough hang time and Tai gets down there clean, it’s an automatic fair catch because they have no room to make a play.”
Out of 16 punts, opponents have only returned the ball five times for 46 yards.
While Felton’s contributions are impressing veterans and making a difference in flipping the field, he’s also developing as a receiver along the way. The long-term projection for the 2025 third-rounder is that he becomes a playmaker for O’Connell’s offense and fighting the battles during punts is giving him valuable reps toward his overall improvement.
“One of the things that compares to playing gunner is the release off the ball against the defensive back,” Felton said. “Me working on my one-step jab, two-step jab, stacking the DB after I beat him. But it’s all about trying to make an impact, so when my times comes as a receiver I’m ready and I’ll make it translate.”
“I’ve tried to get him to look at it as he’s a receiver beating press coverage,” O’Connell said. “So every time he takes that rep, hopefully it’s having a down the line impact on him playing wide receiver as well…I couldn’t be more happy with where he’s at.”
Jayvon Kearse previously was a favorite gunner of mine. A seventh round pick who turned out a starting safety in the NFL Felton reminds me of Kearse. Fun to watch.
Don’t expect him to turn into a superstar or anything, but he seems like a good dude who has the right attitude and enough talent to stick around for a while and be a better than average WR3. The way the year is going, they are definitely going to need special teams to keep it up for the entire season.