Felton had a long wait before Minnesota finally called late on Day 2 of this year’s draft.
Tai Felton needed a moment.
It was the second night of the 2025 NFL draft, and dozens of friends and family members were gathered around the former Maryland wide receiver. Hours had passed without Felton hearing his name called. The second round was in the books and the third round was coming to a close. So he excused himself from the party for a bit and went to go sit in his car.
“I’ll be right back,” he said. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“I believe he was praying,” said his mom, Shannon Felton, who was forming plans on what she’d say to the gathered crowd if the night ended without Tai being picked. “But I also believe he turned it around: ‘My name is getting called tonight.'”
Shortly after Felton returned to the house, it finally happened. His phone rang. It was the Minnesota Vikings, calling to tell him they were taking him with the 102nd pick — the final selection of the night. The crowd tried to contain its excitement during the phone call, then erupted when former Vikings tight end Stu Voigt announced the pick on TV.
“We could not have had a better ending,” Shannon said. “I’d do it all over again for that ending.”
That draft-night scene is documented in a recent 15-minute video, “The Tai Felton Story,” posted by Maryland Football. It also chronicles other parts of his football journey, from his childhood in Virginia to tearing his ACL in high school and why he decided to play for Mike Locksley at Maryland.
It’s worth a watch.
The Tai Felton Story.
Past and present collide as we follow Tai’s journey through triumph, injury, loyalty, and the dream that never died. pic.twitter.com/OFn3EctL2H— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) May 15, 2025
The Vikings are very excited about Felton’s speed and playmaking ability in their offense. He broke out with 96 catches, 1,124 yards, and 9 touchdowns last year as a senior for the Terrapins, then ran a 4.38 40 and jumped nearly 40 inches in the vertical at the NFL combine. He figures to start out as a special teams contributor and rotational player on offense, with the possibility to develop into a productive complementary wide receiver if he continues to hone his route-running chops.