It is no secret that while the Minnesota Vikings were facing the Houston Texans in a preseason matchup this past weekend, fans were holding their breath when it came to their special teams players.
Vikings kicker Will Reichard and punter Ryan Wright struggled at times last season, but head coach Kevin O'Connell believes in both guys and stuck with them.
Reichard made Minnesota's roster out of training camp last year after the team selected him in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Alabama. The rookie kicker had his share of rust and struggles as a first-time NFL kicker last season.
In 2024, Reichard made 24 of 30 field-goal attempts, he was perfect on his extra-point tries (38-for-38), and he was decent when kicking from 50 yards or more away (8-for-11).
Wright had his fair share of struggles last year with Minnesota. Out of 56 punts last season, only 27 of his were downed inside the opposing 20-yard line, and he only averaged 40.6 net yards per punt, which also wasn't good.
O'Connell chose to stick with him again this year; however, he does have a little competition in this summer's training camp in the form of Oscar Chapman.
Will Reichard and Ryan Wright were solid in the preseason opener for the Minnesota Vikings
Every football fan knows that Vikings and kickers usually do not go well together. Minnesota fans know the horrors of Gary Andersen, Blair Walsh, and Dan Bailey. They have tried everything from drafting kickers to signing kickers to trading for kickers.
This is year two for Reichard, and he is striving to be the best version of himself. He showed that in Minnesota's preseason victory over the Texans, as he finished 2-for-2 on his field-goal attempts (long of 48 yards) and went 2-for-2 on extra-point tries.
Wright currently seems to be fighting for his job against Chapman. He punted twice in the preseason game, and the newcomer punted once.
Wright finished the game with two punts for a total of 103 yards, with his long traveling 54 yards. He also had one of his punts downed inside Houston's 20-yard line, which is a really good sign for him.
Chapman's only punt of the contest traveled 52 yards, but the competition between the two has been heating up this week as the Vikings host the New England Patriots for joint practices and a preseason matchup on Saturday.