But the Minnesota Gophers football program has still rolled out some impressive NFL players over the past 50 years, some eras more than others. Since PJ Fleck took over in 2017, the path from Dinkytown to the league has been busier than any other time in modern program history (20 drafted players).

But just like the athletic facilities at the University of Minnesota, the professional pipeline project on campus started with PJ’s predecessors, Jerry Kill and Tracy Claeys, who were hired on in 2011 and sent eight players to the NFL via the draft, from 2014-2016. That’s 28 players drafted to the NFL in 11 years (2014-25).

For context, the Minnesota Gophers had just 14 guys drafted to the NFL, in the 11 years prior from 2002-2013. In that tumultuous time, Glen Mason was fired (after 2006), Tim Brewster was hired (2007) and fired (2010), before Kill came along.

Some of the most notable names drafted over the last decade include (DB) Antoine Winfield Jr., (C) John Michael Schmitz, (T) Daniel Faalele, (EDGE) Boye Mafe, (LB) Blake Cashman and (WR) Rashod Bateman — who caught 147 passes for 2,395 yards and 19 touchdowns in 31 games as a Gopher from 2018-2020 — including one season that only lasted five games, due to a shortened season and opt-out controversies.

Baltimore Ravens lock up Minnesota Gophers legend, Rashod Bateman

Rashod Bateman entered the 2020 NFL Draft, where he was selected No. 27 overall by the Baltimore Ravens, becoming the only 1st round pick out of Minnesota since Laurence Maroney was drafted No. 21 overall in 2006 and just the 18th Gopher ever picked in the first round of the NFL Draft.

After a successful start to his NFL career, the Ravens ripped up Rashod’s rookie contract two years early, when they signed the Minnesota Gophers legend to a $12.8 million extension last offseason, good through 2026.

Now, just one year later, Bateman has agreed to another contract extension in Baltimore, this time worth three years, $36.75 million ($20M guaranteed), according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

We have signed @R_bateman2 to a contract extension!! pic.twitter.com/y7NtI8vFjc

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) June 5, 2025

While everyone was focused on what Derrick Henry did for the 2024 Ravens offense, last year, it was Rashod Bateman who gave Jackson a reliable touchdown target through the air, something he has struggled to find in a wide receiver, throughout his MVP career.

Related: Minnesota Gophers Add Talented Big Ten Lineman to Defense

In total, Bateman has played 51 games for Baltimore, piling up 1,923 yards and 13 touchdowns on 138 receptions. Last season, the Tifton, GA native posted a career-high 756 receiving yards on 45 receptions. He also exploded for NINE touchdowns.

LAMAR JACKSON TO RASHOD BATEMAN FOR AN INCREDIBLE 40-YARD TOUCHDOWN 😱

WHAT A CATCH 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hGwcQsz8Cb

— ESPN (@espn) November 26, 2024

Bateman and the Ravens visit the Minnesota Vikings in Week 10. The former Minnesota Gophers standout will have a homecoming of sorts on November 9 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Bateman’s 1,219 yards and 20.3 yards per reception in 2019 as a sophomore with Minnesota both led the Big Ten.

The giant mess this team has become doesn’t trail back to one person or one part of the team. Bad play calling on offense, defensive injuries, a cautious quarterback and a very inconsistent offensive line shows that there’s plenty of blame to go around.

But in professional sports, failure leads to change and it’s fair to say change is probably overdue for this iteration of the purple and gold. What exactly can the Minnesota Vikings change right now and who should, if anybody, take the fall for the slow start?

Fire Klint Kubiak?

The Vikings first 15 scripted plays each week are excellent and consistently lead to points. Week in and week out those first few possessions seem to inject the fanbase with hope that Klint Kubiak has figured things out. The offense feels so effortless and well-managed. But then we’re consistently left disappointed after the first quarter.

Vikings points per quarter (NFL ranks):

1st qtr – 7th
2nd qtr – 14th
3rd qtr – 12th
4th qtr – 30th

So, basically, once the Vikings move beyond scripted, planned plays — once the game becomes more improvisational — the offense sputters.

— Phil Mackey ???? (@PhilMackey) November 1, 2021

The shine early and suck later trend continued in Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The first few offensive drives were excellent and the Vikings quickly jumped out to a commanding 14-3 lead. But from that point on, the offense was stagnant until the final drive in regulation. That’s when Cousins had to lead a last-minute TD drive just to force overtime. And once overtime hit, the offense ground to a halt again.

If you strip away Klint’s last name, would he still be offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings? No. Our OC, who had never called plays in his coaching career until this season, coordinates this offense because his dad was the guy who sat in his chair last season. We had hope that it might work out but it hasn’t.

Fire Mike Zimmer?

One damning note to me: On third down in OT, Kirk Cousins said the Vikings had all longer developing routes and pressure got to him before the routes opened. But against a team famous for blitzing, how do you not give Cousins at least one route that could be open quickly.

— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) November 7, 2021

But Klint Kubiak is still very young and might turn into a great OC someday. For all we know, he might be a great OC right now. Even with all of Klint’s downfalls, he’s not the real problem and can’t be blamed for the restrictions his offense is forced to operate under. Zimmer is a defensive head coach who hates Kubiak’s side of the football.

Besides, it was Zimmer who wanted to hire Kubiak. Why? A first time offensive coordinator is more likely to be subordinate to however Mike wants to run the offense.

Adapt or die.

Mike Zimmer is a defensive guru (so we’re told) who’s coaching a team with incredibly explosive weapons on offense. That should be a recipe for success. But instead, Zimmer can’t adapt to the strengths of his team like we’ve seen Mike Tomlin do in Pittsburgh or Bill Belichick do in New England.

Instead, we get an old-school offensive game script that’s built to rely on defense in an offensive world. Every week, the Vikings build an early lead, play too conservatively to hold that lead, then blow the lead, in hopes the offense can bail them out in the final moments.

Sometimes, they’ve pulled out victories. Other times, like in their last two games vs the Cowboys and Ravens, they haven’t. If the Minnesota Vikings cannot win the way that Mike Zimmer wants them to then I guess they just won’t win at all.

Win the turnover battle and score a special teams touchdown but still lose.

Thank you, Mike Zimmer.

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) November 7, 2021

Before today, teams with a +2 Turnover differential, a Kickoff Return TD, and a 7-point lead at the start of the 4th Quarter were 110-4-1 (.961). Those teams won 96% of the time.

The Vikings loss to the Ravens makes those teams 110-5-1.

— Dustin Baker (@DustBaker) November 8, 2021

Especially this weekend vs Baltimore, the Minnesota Vikings did just about everything necessary to win a football game. Yet, a plethora of late-game coaching decisions instead meant their second-consecutive loss. That’s why John Harbaugh’s Ravens are (always) a playoff team and the Zimmer’s Vikings are not.

When?

When the Minnesota Vikings decide to fire Zimmer should depend upon how the players are feeling about him. It’s unlikely ownership wants to make such a drastic change midseason but if players like Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson become visibly frustrated then it’s time to rip the band aid off.

We’re currently at the stage where the agents of star players are speaking out.

I represent a lot of Vikings and I cannot watch this. It’s painful

— Blake Baratz (@blakebaratz) November 1, 2021

Playoffs or no playoffs, the Minnesota Vikings should part with Mike Zimmer. If he continues losing it will happen sooner rather than later. And let’s be honest, if he goes, Klint Kubiak probably does too.

Cooper Carlson | Minnesota Sports Fan

NFL rookie mini camps are in full-swing this weekend and that means coaches across the league are seeing their 2021 draft picks practicing under organizational umbrellas for the first time. Some of those rookies are everything they’ve been cracked up to be, and more. Others will be a disappointment from day 1. Well, Baltimore Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh, spoke with media on Saturday and appeared relieved to find out that his first round draft pick, Rashod Bateman, fell into the “as advertised” category.

"@R_bateman2 is as advertised." pic.twitter.com/WkpkXnpQ0E

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 15, 2021

First impressions are very positives. You know, he’s a no-nonsense guy, he’s got a nice demeanor about him and he’s a quick learner. Everything we thought he would be in terms of the athleticism and the skill set. You know, that’s usually the case but not always the case. What you see isn’t always what you get. You don’t know until you get him out there in, really, the first rookie mini camp. And I would say he’s ‘as advertised’ from a talent standpoint..

Jim Harbaugh talking about rookie WR Rashod Bateman

From Gopher to Raven

Rashod Bateman was drafted 27th overall by the Ravens last month and he’s been all over their social media scene since. Agent Zero will wear 12 on his uniform and the Baltimore staff hopes he can help the growth of their young QB, Lamar Jackson.

Bateman left the University of Minnesota with the 6th most yards, 5th most touchdowns and 6th most receptions in school history. He played just three seasons, one of which was shortened and thrown into a blender by COVID-19. Rashod is the first Gopher to be drafted in the first round since Laurence Maroney was taken #21 overall in 2006 by the Denver Broncos.

Bateman is universally seen as a top-4 wide receiver in school history, mentioned in the same conversations as Tyler Johnson, Eric Decker and Ron Johnson.

????@R_bateman2 pic.twitter.com/1462qAFZJM

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 14, 2021

First look @R_bateman2 ❗️ pic.twitter.com/VhdHb4vd3W

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 14, 2021

Smooth. ????@R_bateman2 pic.twitter.com/oVne0antRq

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 15, 2021

"I have high expectations for myself." @R_bateman2 pic.twitter.com/BwSM1QOpUP

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 15, 2021

"My goal is to be the best I can be for this team." @R_bateman2 pic.twitter.com/Zm0FaoDGJU

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) May 15, 2021

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The defense, however, was on point. It helps when you’re playing Baltimore’s 2nd offense + Joe Flacco, due to injuries, but you can’t pick your opponent, as the old saying goes. The defensive line constantly had pressure on Flacco and he was showing it. Even in times where the pressure wasn’t around, he looked frazzled.

The best offensive players in the first half were the kickers, Kai Forbath and Justin Tucker. Forbath made two kicks from over 50 yards and 1 for 40+. Tucker matched when given the opportunity, hitting from both 48 and 57. Neither kicker missed. Here are the highlights via NFL Network’s Gameday coverage.

The 2nd half Vikings offense was much better. The defense was the same, which was stellar. Baltimore’s holes in its rushing defense started to show itself very early in the 2nd, when Latavius Murray ripped off a big run to set up ANOTHER Forbath field goal. A drive later, he busted another big one, and this time hit pay-dirt.

There were a lot of Vikings, that have had down seasons or even down careers lately, who showed up for this game. Laquon Treadwell splashed early, Jarius Wright had two superman catches, and Latavius Murray had 135 yards and 2 TD’s. When injuries happen, you need guys to step up and thats exactly what we saw in this game. Here are the 2nd half highlights:

After a slow start, the Vikings were able to make this a yawner. Well, it was a bit of a yawner the entire way through. We’ll take any win we can though, including a win when the Packers lose, which they did to New Orleans today. That will give the Vikings sole lead of the NFC North as we head to Week 8.

Case Keenum is such a good backup to have for this football team, specifically. The defense is so good that Case gets good field position and never has to worry about winning a game on his own. It will be even better when Diggs and one of the starting quarterbacks can get healthy. And, say what you want about Rick Spielman but he has put this defense together, with the help of Mike Zimmer, and they continue to impress week after week.

There are some injury concerns to take from this game and they’re on the offensive line, which is the last place we need this injury bug to spread. Riley Reiff and Jeremiah Sirles left the game at some point.

Eric Strack
Minnesota Sports Fan
MinnesotaSportsFan.com @RealMNSportsFan

Stat help from ESPN

Photo: @Vikings