Forgotten Vikings Young Fella Turning Some Heads at Camp

Remember tight end Gavin Bartholomew? The Pittsburgh alumnus got snagged in the 6th Round of the 2025 NFL Draft but spent his entire rookie season in the infirmary due to injury.

Healthy at last, Bartholomew is making a positive impression.

Consider the update on the Vikings young fella courtesy of Alec Lewis of The Athletic: “Semi-random Vikings camp takeaway, but I thought TE Gavin Bartholomew looked really good. Made two impressive over the middle catches. Moved well. First time really seeing him out there after back injury happened last year.”

Vikings Young Fella Shines Early

Since August hasn’t yet arrived, all of the fringe roster players have a long way to go before fully securing a job. Bartholomew isn’t going to be any different, but there’s something to be said for starting strong.

Last year, Minnesota leaned on TE1 T.J. Hockenson and TE2 Josh Oliver for hearty workloads. Most of the time, the TE3 was Ben Yurosek, the UDFA tight end with great hustle as a blocker. There was then a turn toward Nick Vannett and Ben Sims when there was a desire for more help. C.J. Ham wasn’t a fullback but he was a rugged guy who could do dirty work when there was a desire for some added meanness.

As things stand, the TE hierarchy could look as follows:

• TE1 T.J. Hockenson
• TE2 Josh Oliver
• TE3/4 Ben Yurosek
• TE3/4 Gavin Bartholomew
• TE5 Bryson Nesbit
• TE6 Marshall Lang

Complicating matters is the presence of rookie fullback Max Bredeson. He looks like a nice piece of the puzzle since he got moved around so much at Michigan. In fact, the folks at PFF graded him as a tight end since he earned so many snaps in that spot. Do the Vikings opt for a similar strategy? If so, then that muddies the water a bit for the depth tight ends.

Check out what Lance Zierlein had to say in his pre-draft scouting report: “Tight end prospect with a broad upper body, muscular arms and adequate demeanor to block. Bartholomew will primarily function as an in-line tight end but can be set in action as a move blocker when needed. He’s unspectacular as an athlete with soft hands and an average catch radius. His block aggression is admirable, but Bartholomew will need to get stronger and improve his block sustain to make a roster.”

Losing a season is far from ideal. What would nevertheless be encouraging is if Gavin Bartholomew found a way to begin addressing the shortcomings in his game.

At minimum, the sophomore should be coming back with a good understanding of the scheme. Spending a season focusing on the mental component of things has the potential of allowing him to play fast since he had so much runway to digest the vocabulary, grind film, and so on. Plus, he’s been able to sit back and watch a pair of great vets in Hockenson and Oliver go to work.

Next up for him is going to be ability to do the little things well. Being a monster on specials would be a nice boost, especially if he’s capable of both blocking and tackling. Matt Daniels could then insert the good-sized Vikings young fella with regularity.

Meanwhile, Kevin O’Connell will want somebody who competes like a madman when it comes time to block. Doing so will keep the defense honest since it has to respect a tight end who can bully linebackers and/or defensive backs in the ground game.

And, to be sure, there’s room for catching a pass or two. Nobody expects the kid to be Steve Jordan. If he is, then that’s a nice bonus but something that could only be proven over several years. The focus for the present moment rests in doing the little things well.

Gavin Bartholomew, 23, stands at 6’5″ and weighs 250 pounds. He was a teammate of Jordan Addison in university.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.