Minnesota Vikings find undrafted gem RB C.J. Ham

The Minnesota Vikings always seem to do a good job in the draft, but they also find talent in the UDFA pool. They may have found a gem in RB C.J. Ham…

The Minnesota Vikings are in a good spot at the running back position as long as Adrian Peterson is on the roster, but you can never have too much depth. With Jerrick McKinnon and Matt Asiata, the Vikings have some of the best and most underrated depth at RB in the NFL today, but that doesn’t mean they’re opposed to adding to their number.

After the 2016 NFL Draft, the Vikings added a DII running back named C.J. Ham out of Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ham was the leading rusher in the conference both in yards and touchdowns this past season (1,097-16) and was a 2nd-team All-Conference performer.

At the South Dakota State pro day, Ham checked in at 5-11, 231 pounds and posted some impressive numbers as he tested out athletically. He’s not a blazing runner, clocking a 4.69 in the 40-yard dash, but as you can see on tape, he uses quick feet and good vision to find holes and gaps in the defense that he attacks with force.

With 22 reps at 225 pounds on the bench press and a 37-inch vertical jump, it’s clear that the Vikings have added an explosive athlete with great strength. He was given a tryout at mini-camp as both a running back and fullback, and was impressive enough that they decided to waive safety John Lowdermilk in order to put Ham on the roster.

I don’t think Ham is going to blow you away with his skills running the football. He simply gets the job done. He had three games last season of 100 yards or more rushing, but that doesn’t mean he can’t carry a bigger load. Think of this guy as a more athletic version of Asiata coming out of Utah back in 2011.

In the NFL, you have to do a lot to stand out as a running back, so Ham is going to have to make his mark on special teams right away and prove that he can be more than just a two-down back. He can add value in the passing game as a blocker or a receiver, where he was pretty good over the course of his career at Augustana. He had 949 yards receiving and six touchdowns over the last four years in that category, including 39 catches for 431 yards and three touchdowns this past season.

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His ability as a dual-threat back leads me to believe that Ham can impress the coaching staff in a variety of ways, despite having come from a DII school. The Vikings have done a really good job of finding local talent and Ham could be the next.

Going from the Augustana Vikings to the NFL has been a challenge over the course of school history, as Ham is just the fifth player in school history to sign with an NFL team. The most recent NFL player to call Augustana his alma mater is Kevin Kaesviharn, a safety who played last for the Tennessee Titans in 2009.

It will be an uphill battle for Ham to buck historical trends and come away with a roster spot in Minnesota, but his skills as a dual-threat back and potential HB/FB hybrid lead me to believe he will at least get consideration for the practice squad and be given time to develop.

The Vikings may have found themselves a very valuable jack-of-all-trades here.