Two-hundred and fifty seven players, including 23 cornerbacks, 21 safeties and another three loosely listed as defensive backs, were handpicked by Minnesota and the other 31 clubs in the 2025 NFL Draft.
But not Zemaiah Vaughn.
Like many hopefuls, Vaughn was left sweating all seven rounds and 257 selections, but he eventually initiated the next phase of his football journey by signing with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent.
Truth is, slapping on a UDFA label can be misleading, because conjuring an image of one is flawed.
Are they lacking a characteristic or combination of attributes and/or appealing performance on tape? Sometimes. Generally, there's a reason for going undrafted, whether it's physical or mental – but the evaluation process hardly is perfected, thus contributors and starter-level players slip through the cracks.
The most remarkable examples of such in Vikings annals include Pro Football Hall of Famers Mick Tingelhoff and John Randle, and Pro Bowl safety Robert Griffith and home-state hero Adam Thielen.
That's to say, not all UDFAs are undersized, underskilled or unable to make it onto the field.
Queue the room for Vaughn.
At 6-foot-3 and 186 pounds, with an 80-inch wingspan, Vaughn is sculpted in the mold of Jets two-time First-Team All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner. Although he was omitted from the NFL Scouting Combine in February, Vaughn crushed athletic tests at the Big 12 Pro Day in March, running the fourth-fastest 40 among defensive backs (4.45 seconds) and clocking his position's fastest speed at 10 yards (19.09 mph).
Additionally, Vaughn tied for the best vertical (39.5 inches) and broad (129) jumps by a defensive back; only four out of 21 participating corners and 12 safeties at this year's combine fared better in each drill.
That's to say, Vaughn has coveted length and requisite athleticism to earn his keep in an NFL secondary.
Working to his disadvantage, however, is the basic fact that the Beaumont, Texas, native, is a novice relative to a lot of counterparts whose names were called, and consequently celebrated, in Rounds 1-7 of the draft. The University of Utah product, after all, has played fewer than 2,500 snaps at cornerback.
"Utah was my only Division-I offer at the time, because I was a quarterback in high school, and I wasn't really highly recruited," Vaughn recalled on the eve of Vikings rookie minicamp. "[They] told me they'd give me a chance to, you know, [be a walk-on], and I eventually earned a scholarship my freshman year."
It's likely Utah noticed in Vaughn what Minnesota did: tangible play speed and an ideal frame, plus foundational knowledge that stemmed from leading an offense in high school – and the neighborhood.
Vaughn's greenness at his position – NOTE: his 21-minute, senior-season highlight reel at Beaumont United High School features zigzagging rushes and above-average passing mechanics – makes his path to the Vikings circuitous; but not improbable thanks to an upbringing deeply influenced by competition.
"The moment I decided to play in the league – shoot, I believe I was like 6 years old," Vaughn jogged his memory. "You know, growing up with a lot of brothers, it was like, football has always been a big deal for us – because we grew up watching our uncles; they all played and set records at their high schools."
Vaughn credited his uncle, Anthony, who attended Dallas Carter High School (yes, the villainous and powerhouse program portrayed in the film Friday Night Lights), as his biggest role model growing up.
"[He] set the trend for me and all my brothers," said Vaughn, before reflecting on the backyard experiences with seven siblings that helped shape his football successes. "When we [were] kids it felt like a big game, like we were actually in the league, and we had fans and stuff, so it was pretty fun."
Vaughn said he and his brothers tried playing together, but "the neighborhood didn't allow us to do that most of the time." Annoying, yes. But smart if not prescient, kids perceived an All-Vaughn team as unfair.
One of Vaughn's older brothers, Xzavier, plays quarterback and concluded his college career in 2024 at Division-I FCS Alcorn State, following stints at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (2019-21) and D-II Lincoln (2022-23). Another brother, Zach, played with Zemaiah at Utah in 2021, lining up opposite him as a wide receiver.
While there were expected, and felt, growing pains digesting different techniques and nuances of a new role, Vaughn said the transition from quarter to corner back wasn't "all that tricky" because of his youth.
"Growing up with all [my] brothers, I had to play it anyway," Vaughn quipped.
Accordingly, then, the on-field returns in college were quick, like his 10-yard split.
Playing only five snaps on defense as a true freshman, Vaughn still procured an interception – no less a 73-yard runback – in a road contest at Washington. The season after, Vaughn gained valuable experience as a starter, and the next year, in 2022, he broke up nine passes and began a starting streak of 31 consecutive games that carried through his final campaign, in which he, quite literally, got the last laugh.
Against UCF in late November, in the first half of Vaughn's last college hurrah, he tracked in an overthrow, gathered his stride and zoomed untouched 60 yards into the Knights end zone for his first career pick six.
It was confirmation that an ex-quarterback with special traits and a growth mindset – influenced by the right people – can sprout into an impactful defensive back in Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores' system.
The Vikings utilized free agency to add experience to the position, with an extension for Byron Murphy, Jr., and new deals for Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah as they looked to offset expiring contracts for veterans Stephon Gilmore and Shaq Griffin (who ranked eighth and 11th in most defensive snaps for the Vikings in 2024). But the team is always interested in having has much talent and depth as possible.
On the first day of rookie minicamp Vaughn showed some of his playmaking prowess. He picked off an errant pass in a 7-on-7 drill and was met promptly with a helmet pat from Head Coach Kevin O'Connell.
It was a play he envisioned making in a place he envisioned reaching before the draft when he participated in a Top 30 visit with the Vikings at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center in April.
"I was hoping I was gonna end up here, so it was kind of an easy decision for me when the time came," Vaughn said, alluding to his pre-draft visit. "I knew I wanted to be here, but my first, my initial thought when I came here – it was cold, so I wasn't ready for that, honestly. But it's cool. It's all gonna work out."
