Joe Oberle

2 weeks ago | vikingsterritory.com | Joe Oberle

Minnesota was the epicenter of the NFL this week! Why? Did the Vikings win the Super Bowl or secure the first overall pick of the next NFL Draft? No, neither of those things happened. Rather, Minneapolis hosted the NFL Meetings this week in which the owners voted on a few issues. (And I am sure the cold and rainy weather pattern we find ourselves stuck in will convince them that Minnesota is not a place to conduct anything during anytime of the year.

3 weeks ago | vikingsterritory.com | Joe Oberle

The state of Minnesota experienced temperatures north of 90 degrees this past week, so that must mean it is the dead days of August and training camp begins, right? Well, not exactly. It is May and has been unseasonably warm and the Vikings have assembled—but it’s just the rookies and their minicamp at TCO Performance Center. Still, the new football year has begun.

1 month ago | vikingsterritory.com | Joe Oberle

The 2025 NFL Schedule Release is next week. The NFL sent an email explaining that the schedule release is “almost here!” Not that it was released, but that it is almost released. (It’s almost like the email saying the Draft was almost here.) You can register and “be the first to know when the 2025-26 schedule drops.” Well, this NFL observer is all atwitter. (Because I suspect that’s where I can really be the first to see it all—on Twitter.)Okay, end of the old man rant.

1 month ago | vikingsterritory.com | Joe Oberle

The NFL Draft finally arrived, and the Vikings held the 24th pick in the first round. The fans were revved up (when they weren’t fearing that GM Kwesi Adolfo-Mensah would trade the pick) and they got ready to explode at the announcement of the newest Viking. Until they drafted Ohio State Buckeye guard Donovan Jackson. A guard? What? Where is the excitement? But the pick wasn’t a buzzkill. The Vikings are hoping Jackson will be a buzz saw on the offensive line next season.

1 month ago | vikingsterritory.com | Joe Oberle

The first-ever Vikings draft pick (No. 1 overall) took place in 1961 and was Tommy Mason, a running back from Tulane, who had a nice career. In six seasons with the Vikings, he rushed for 3,252 yards, scored 28 touchdowns, and garnered the nickname Touchdown Tommy. Two picks later (29th overall), they selected Georgia QB “Scramblin’” Fran Tarkenton, who was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.