EAGAN, Minn. — One is a former first-round pick who has lived up to the pedigree for nine NFL seasons so far.
The other is a seventh-round pick who raised a ceiling of expectations as the former's teammate.
Center Ryan Kelly, the 18th overall pick of 2016 by Indianapolis, and guard Will Fries, the 248th overall selection of 2021 by the Colts, became Vikings last week.
They are bringing a built-in camaraderie and the kind of trust and ability to play together that is so essential on the interior of an NFL offensive line.
Both visited Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center last week to pass physicals, sign their contracts and tour their new team's headquarters.
Both represent — along with early signings of interior defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave — a major push by Minnesota to focus its energy on the line of scrimmage.
Both joined video interviews with Twin Cities media members on Thursday to explain what led to them becoming Vikings.
Kelly once envisioned playing his entire career with one team, but after 121 regular-season games, three playoff contests and playing out his contract, he entered free agency. An NFL Players Association representative, Kelly was on a flight to a meeting last week during the negotiation process.
"Which is probably the worst place to be, since you can't answer your phone," he quipped Thursday. "So, big shoutout to [agent] Jimmy Sexton for [communicating] via text message.
"I think there were a few teams [interested]. And as I started looking at it, Minnesota was the most appealing place," Kelly said. "I can probably go into super depth in this answer, but even in the AFC South, watching some of the NFC North teams, you watch different offensive lines throughout the year, and I think you can watch a team and how they play, their head coach, who they play for. Obviously, the NFLPA Report Card comes out every single year, and [the Vikings are] always number one or number two. So all those things kind of go into it. And what I saw from afar, more descriptively, was just how well the offensive line played together. You could tell that team really relies on the offensive line and their true 'band of brothers' mentality, and that's what I was looking for."
About 10 hours after Kelly agreed to terms, he learned his new home would still be alongside Fries. The outcome was a surprise in the best kind of way.
"I could sit here and talk about him for all day, man," Kelly said when asked about Fries, whom he nicknamed "Spud" in 2021. "I've played with a lot of talented players. I've played with first-rounders, I've played with undrafted guys, and I've played everywhere in between, right?
"And I think you look at him, a seventh-round pick, he comes in '21, and we were rolling for a while. I mean, we were one of the hottest teams in AFC, and it's just kind of hard to figure out who he was going to be, right? 'Is he going to be a guard, is he going to be a tackle?' But the one thing he had was this mentality of, 'No one's going to outwork me.' And also, he's the ultimate glue guy. And I say that not because glue guy is a demeaning term."
Kelly said Fries brings the necessary edge to the offensive line, along with a relentless work ethic that have contributed to him finding his niche.
Fries shared an anecdote about his dad having him flip tires and do push-ups with the added weight of chains when he was in fourth grade to build strength for football and baseball.
"It was just good hard work he had me doing, and I think from a young age, that really instilled a work ethic in me that, 'I'm not going to be outworked by anyone.' I would train and do everything I can in my power to be the best guard that I can be," Fries said. "It was not fun at the time, but it's great now thinking back on it. It's kind of funny."
The Vikings confirmed their belief in Fries' trajectory with a substantial multiyear contract. He wants to reward that faith in him.
"There's no expectation when you're a seventh-rounder. Maybe you make the roster, maybe you don't, maybe you're on the practice squad. But I always knew that I belonged in the NFL, and I knew I belonged to be a starter, and I knew I could play at a really high level," Fries said. "And that's what I expect to bring here, is to play at a high level and be the best I can for this team.
"I think the only limitations are the ones that you put on yourself. So, you know, as long as you are willing to put in the work, you can accomplish, really, anything that you want," he added. "It's not easy. There's a lot of early mornings, long nights and doing extra and doing stuff that people don't want to do, but that's what it takes. And there's no secret, it's just doing what others won't, and being able to kind of push those things that are uncomfortable."
Fries credited Kelly's leadership and ability to communicate with helping his own development and merging their games together.
"He's incredibly intelligent at making ID calls and having a feel for pressures and games, things like that. That's a lot of stuff that's rubbed off on me," Fries said. "The way he sees the game, and he's able to help me watch film and improve my game, it's been huge, and for us to see the game through almost the same lens of eyes, that's a big plus for the both of us."
So, they are together again, even in an offseason of change, a concept not exactly foreign to Kelly, who noted that he played with 13 different quarterbacks over the course of his nine Colts seasons. The four-time Pro Bowler believes that fluidity will help him adjust to new teammates on the offensive line and another new quarterback.
Kelly shared thoughts of his early interaction with Vikings 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, who suffered a torn meniscus last August.
"Just having some brief conversations with J.J. so far, and getting kind of a feel for people — and in the facility, and how they view him as, you know, he's fiery, man," Kelly said. "He's got some stuff to him now, and he's got that energy that you want as a quarterback, right? And as a young guy who missed his entire rookie season, I think you need that edge where … he wants to prove who he can be in this league. He wants to lead this team to an NFC North title. He wants to go to the NFC Championship, win a Super Bowl.
"And I think he also understands there's a lot that he hasn't seen, doesn't know," Kelly added. "And so, you know, for the last nine years, for the most part, I've been in charge of the run game and the pass game, and all the blitz pickups. So I think that was what I bring to this table, is there's a young guy who we really believe in, who we know has the fire and the passion to be great. He just might not be able to see everything right away. So it's helping him, helping the offensive line, and leading the offensive line to run the ball and pass protect the way that we get more points. In this league, that's how you do it."
