https://vikesnow.com/analysis/2026/to-see-gavin-bartholomew/

The Vikings Are Finally Getting to See Gavin Bartholomew

Gavin Bartholomew’s rookie season left him in an unusual position.

He is entering his second NFL training camp, but he is still trying to show the Vikings what kind of player he can become. A back injury cost Bartholomew the 2025 season before it truly began. He returned to practice in December, but Minnesota never activated him for a game.

In the meantime, Ben Yurosek, an undrafted free agent, stepped into the No. 3 tight end role behind T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver.

That makes this camp more than a standard second-year development story. It is Bartholomew’s first real opportunity to compete for a job he was drafted to pursue.

VikesNow’s Dustin Baker noted this week that the battle has effectively become Bartholomew versus Yurosek for the role behind Hockenson and Oliver. That framing is fair. But there’s more at stake for Bartholomew.

The Vikings did not draft him in the sixth round simply to fill a developmental spot in the tight end room. They saw an athlete with enough route-running ability and lower-body strength to develop as a hybrid player, someone capable of aligning as a traditional in-line tight end or moving around the formation.

The injury delayed that plan. It did not erase it.

A rookie season spent watching

Bartholomew had to spend most of last year learning without the benefit of meaningful practice or game reps. That is particularly difficult for a tight end, a position that requires players to understand route concepts, protections, run fits and blocking techniques while working in several different alignments.

Hockenson saw how Bartholomew handled that year from inside the position room.

“Gavin’s great,” Hockenson said during camp. “We were with him all last year just in meetings, and he was learning the offense and how you do things and just how this league is.”

The veteran tight end did not make the mistake of treating Bartholomew’s lost season as empty time. Meetings matter. The daily work matters. A player can learn an offense, study opponents and absorb how established NFL players prepare even when he cannot contribute on Sundays.

Still, there is no replacement for finally putting the helmet on and making plays.

“And so just to have him out here and see him working,” Hockenson added, “and he makes a couple plays, is a lot of fun.”

That has been one of the quiet themes of the opening week of camp. Bartholomew has made catches over the middle, shown up in red-zone work and been involved enough that outside observers have noticed. Various reporters keep highlighting him as someone who stands out.

The early flashes do not settle the competition. They do, however, establish that Bartholomew is no longer only a player the Vikings are waiting on.

He is a player who can begin to make a case.

The skill set the Vikings drafted

Offensive coordinator Wes Phillips gave a revealing evaluation when asked about Bartholomew’s emergence this summer.

“It’s just been fun to watch Gavin play football,” Phillips said. “We saw so little of him last year before the back, and we had some excitement for what he could be coming out of college. We saw some explosiveness. We saw some athleticism.”

That is the starting point. Bartholomew has the movement skills to threaten defenses as a receiver, particularly when opposing coverages are focused on Jefferson, Addison, Hockenson and the Vikings’ top options.

But Phillips did not describe Bartholomew as a receiving specialist.

He also pointed to “a physical nature in the run game,” saying Bartholomew has the potential to get the job done either as a true Y tight end or a more flexible F tight end. In other words, the Vikings see a player who can operate in multiple personnel packages rather than a one-dimensional pass catcher.

That versatility could matter more in 2026.

Minnesota has spent the offseason discussing a more physical rushing identity under new offensive line coach Keith Carter and assistant head coach Frank Smith. The Vikings have a new fullback in Max Bredeson, two established tight ends and a backfield built around Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason and rookie Demond Claiborne.

The offense will not suddenly stop using wide receivers. Jefferson remains the center of everything Minnesota does. But a young tight end who can block in the run game, release into routes and move between alignments gives O’Connell more flexibility in how he builds formations and attacks matchups.

That is the opportunity in front of Bartholomew.

Details will decide the role

The praise from Phillips came with an important qualifier.

“He’s shown a lot of toughness. He’s made some catches out there thus far,” Phillips said. “Really for him, it’s just like a lot of young guys, it’s the details play in and play out that’s going to be the difference.”

That is the dividing line between a player who flashes during training camp and a player coaches trust in a game.

A difficult catch can draw attention. A clean release, a correct protection assignment, a sustained block on the edge or an exact route depth can be just as important to a coaching staff. Bartholomew has to show that he can do those things consistently enough to earn snaps in an offense that already has Hockenson and Oliver ahead of him.

He understands the immediate objective.

“Obviously, for a spot on the team, that starts first thing,” Bartholomew said. “And then just being a great teammate. Whatever the team needs, I’m going to do. I’m just really being that team guy.”

The answer is conventional. The context is not.

Bartholomew knows he has something to prove because his teammates did not get to see much of him last season. When asked whether he had even more to show after the injury, he acknowledged that it hurt to be unavailable.

“I’m just trying to get their trust back and show them what I can do,” he continued.

That is the right framing for the next month.

Bartholomew does not need to become Hockenson or Oliver. The Vikings already have those players. He needs to prove he can give the offense a reliable third tight end who can help in multiple ways, whether that means a red-zone target, a run-game blocker, a special-teams contributor or an extra option when injuries force the depth chart to change.

Yurosek earned an opportunity while Bartholomew was out. That job will not be handed over because Bartholomew was drafted first.

But after a year spent watching, Bartholomew is finally getting the chance to compete for it.