5 best Minnesota Vikings fifth-round picks of the last decade

Jeff Locke – P (2013)

It’s never sexy to draft a punter. Though doing it in the fifth round usually means the team that is taking them is getting a long time contributor. This was the case with the Vikings and Jeff Locke in 2013.

Locke punted for Minnesota from 2013 to 2016. In his Vikings career, he had 290 punts with an average of 43.2 yards per punt and his long was a booming 72 yards.

Locke was also Minnesota’s holder during his time with the team. He will live on in infamy for being the guy that held the ball for Blair Walsh in that freezing 2015 playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks. With the Vikings having a chance to win the contest late, Locke caught the snap and then turned the ball so the laces were facing in. Walsh then pushed the short 27-yard attempt left and Minnesota suffered another heartbreaking postseason defeat.

Whether or not Locke’s hold was the reason Walsh missed the kick will never be known for sure. It couldn’t have helped though.

Locke went on to kick one more season for the Vikings after that heartbreaker. He then signed with the Detroit Lions in 2017 and punted for them for five games.

Locke will never be remembered as a star, but the Vikings got four productive seasons out of him and that is some good value from a fifth-round choice.