Over their history, regardless of who the quarterback has been, the Minnesota Vikings have had a least a competent, of not quite prolific, offense most of the time. Of course within those successful offensive ecosystems there has been plenty of star power, but sneaky contributors who don't dominate opportunities have been important too.
If we were to list the longest-tenured Vikings on the 2025 roster, No. 1 is easy: safety Harrison Smith, who is entering his 14th season. To give you an idea of how long he's been around, offensive tackle Matt Kalil was the Vikings' other first-round pick the year he was drafted.
When thinking of other Vikings to fill out, say, the five-longest tenured players on the team, right tackle Brian O'Neill is one that comes to mind easily. But between O'Neill and Smith as the second-longest tenured Viking is fullback C.J. Ham, who came aboard as an undrafted rookie in 2017.
Ham is a two-time Pro Bowler (2020, 2023), and he has played every game in each of the last four seasons. He has also been elected a team captain in four straight years, and a fifth time getting that acknowledgment from his teammates is surely coming this year.
Stat reveals C.J. Ham as a real chain mover for the Minnesota Vikings' offense
Over eight seasons as a Viking, as expected due to the limited role inherent in being a fullback, Ham has just 121 offensive touches (82 receptions and 39 carries), totaling 784 yards from scrimmage.
But as revealed by the Purple FTW! Podcast, Ham has been pretty proficient with his touches during his career.
57 of CJ Ham's 121 career touches have resulted in a first down or a touchdown (47.1%). pic.twitter.com/L8QdsxgPuG
— Purple FTW! Podcast (@PurpleForTheWin) July 27, 2025
As an example, good or otherwise with a lot more touch volume playing for two teams over the same eight seasons as Ham, Vikings running back Aaron Jones has converted a first down or scored a touchdown on 30.5 percent of his career touches. Ham blocked for Dalvin Cook for six seasons (2017-2022), and Cook converted a first down or scored a touchdown on 28.9 percent of his touches as a Viking.
If we're going to use a fullback example, let's go all the way. Kyle Juszczyk has moved the chains or scored a touchdown on 52.2 percent of his touches (182 of 348) over 12 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. So Ham has not that much less proficient with his touches than the top fullback in the NFL right now.
Ham's contributions to the Vikings' offense have flown, and will always fly, under the radar. But it's been fair to generally assume he makes his opportunities to touch the ball count, and the statistical proof has been revealed in plain sight.