EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings embodied #OneMinnesota at Friday's rookie minicamp practice.

Instead of the sign of support across local sports teams on social media, it was more of a continuation between programs as former Golden Gophers QB Max Brosmer took his first snaps with the Vikings.

On Friday, 45 rookies (including Minnesota's five-player 2025 NFL Draft class, 20 undrafted free agents and 20 tryouts) took the field at TCO Performance Center for a 90-minute practice session that also included participation by six previously rostered Vikings.

Among them was Brosmer, who played last season for the Gophers after starting his college career at New Hampshire.

Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell described Brosmer as a "pretty efficient thrower."

"From the standpoint of fundamentals, techniques, his ability to generate some pretty good revolutions and RPMs on the ball with pretty limited movement in the pocket," O'Connell told Twin Cities media members. "From a standpoint of his high football I.Q., I think it shows up when he can really arrive here, spend a couple hours in meetings, and he's out there making corrections in the middle of a 7-on-7 walk-through.

"We're already seeing a lot of things that we really identified in Max to bring him into a quarterbacks room that we're really excited about, and I think he had a great first day," he added.

Due to updated rules allowing underclassmen to throw at Pro Days, O'Connell was able to see Brosmer in-person twice (2024 and 2025 Minnesota Pro Days), in addition to any Gophers games he caught on television last fall.

"He got a chance to throw last year and caught my eye then," O'Connell said. "Anytime that I get to a Pro Day, the same guy two years in a row … I felt pretty good about Max as a thrower."

Brosmer made several completions throughout the practice — including to tryout Montigo Moss, the son of Vikings Ring of Honor and Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss and Brosmer's former Coastal Athletic Association conference rival.

"I saw him yesterday during check-in and had make sure I gave him a couple jabs for playing at Maine," Brosmer quipped. "[We were] 3-0 against the Maine Black Bears; he knew who I was when I walked up and was like, 'I can't really say much.' We have fun with that, and I'm so glad there's two CAA guys here."

O'Connell also appreciates giving Moss a chance during rookie minicamp, for a different reason: he and Randy Moss teamed together in New England.

"Hopefully it's an exciting thing for him and he feels like he can come here and compete and learn — and be around one of the best receiver coaches in the NFL (Keenan McCardell) and see what happens," O'Connell said. "But no question, that was an awesome thing to see, [him wearing] a Vikings helmet and knowing my personal history with his dad."

Here are three other takeaways from O'Connell's conference:

1. Providing opportunity

You never know when seizing an opportunity can change your career trajectory.

As O'Connell mentioned in reference to Moss, rookie minicamp offers players the chance to compete for a roster spot. Though the chances might be slimmer for UDFAs or tryout prospects, they're certainly not zero.

O'Connell said he's already talked to the group and pointed to examples like Bo Richter, Gabriel Murphy and Ivan Pace, Jr., all of whom have made the active roster under O'Connell after joining the Vikings as undrafted rookies.

"And then we've got even greater stories of guys like C.J. Ham coming in as a tryout and obviously now being one of our captains and foundational guys," O'Connell said. "So, it's a special, special weekend kicking off.

"I think it hits home when you show them a clip of Ivan Pace making an interception at rookie minicamp and then picking a ball off to seal an explosive 3-0 win in Vegas a few years ago," he said. "I tried to hide the score when I showed that clip today, but [this weekend] matters, and I want those guys to know that to matters to me, matters to our coaches."

2. Goals for Jackson

Rookie minicamp practice is a unique situation for Vikings first-round selection Donovan Jackson, because O'Connell opts against any full-team reps — meaning there isn't a whole lot of on-field work for Jackson and other offensive or defensive linemen.

So then, what is Minnesota's coaching staff looking for from those players?

"I've been around rookie minicamps where there was full-speed team [work] and a lot of injuries and a lot of guys just fighting to make the team. We don't do that, but we do get some time together as a full group," O'Connell said. "And to me … for the O-line, D-line, it's about them being ready to enter the party Monday with our full team. As we start progressing toward Phase 3 and OTAs and minicamp, there's a lot of ways those guys can get a lot out of it from a techniques-and-fundamental standpoint.

"It's the Chris Kuper and Keith Carter Invitational over there at the O-line camp," O'Connell quipped. "They don't charge those guys too much for that."

Minnesota will be in Phase 2 for the next two weeks and is scheduled to enter Phase 3 with the first OTA practice on May 27.

3. A trio of tight ends

O'Connell was asked about Gavin Bartholomew, whom the Vikings drafted in the sixth round out of Pittsburgh, as well as the transition from college football to the NFL specifically at the tight end position.

"It's a great question, because really all three of those guys in camp here (Bartholomew, Bryson Nesbit and Ben Yurosek), they're on our roster — because we only had two going into the draft," O'Connell said. "So we really identified all three of those guys in different ways, how they would fit with the other two guys we feel so great about, T.J. [Hockenson] and Josh [Oliver].

"You know, Coach [Brian Angelichio] is going to be pushing these guys really hard, because more than likely you're looking at, you know, the third tight end is in that group, hopefully," he continued, "and then we hope the other two are pushing right there to either make it a hard decision on keeping four, or [go to] the practice squad and all those things.

"Gavin, you know, it's always a position that sometimes between the film evaluation, the Pro Day, seeing the tape of it, you just hope they show up and look the way you hope they look," O'Connell added. "And Gavin definitely did."