Vikings past and present met on the links this week.

Two current Vikings, T.J. Hockenson and Harrison Smith, captained foursomes that met in the semifinals of the third annual NFLPA Golf Classic, hosted in Riviera Maya, Mexico, at El Camaleón Golf Course.

Hockenson's group included Minnesota teammate Andrew Van Ginkel, San Francisco's Trent Taylor and tight end Robert Tonyan, who recently signed with the Chiefs after spending much of 2024 with the Vikings. Smith's team was made up of Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy, as well as former Vikings Adam Thielen and Case Keenum.

Keenum and "Harry the Hitman" have been part of Team Smith for the classic since its inaugural event in 2023. Thielen joined the group last spring, along with former Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks, and helped secure the championship.

This year, McCarthy stepped into the group and drained a putt for an eagle for the foursome.

Current Vikings Brian O'Neill, Ryan Kelly and Brett Rypien also competed in this year's event that featured 18 total foursomes of NFL athletes.

In the quarterfinals, Team Smith defeated Team Hutchinson (Aiden Hutchinson, Hogan Hatten, Kyle Peko and Pat O'Connor), while Team Hockenson knocked out Team Van Noy (Kyle Van Noy, Josh Harrison, Micah McFadden and Dane Belton). That pitted Smith and Hockenson against each other, and it was the latter who advanced to face Team Gardner in the 2025 NFLPA Golf Classic Finals.

Team Gardner (Sauce Gardner, Alec Pierce, Josh Whyle and Desmond Ridder) ended up taking home the hardware.

This year's tournament aired on Golf Channel, with primetime coverage Tuesday and Wednesday. The broadcast was anchored by Golf Channel's Damon Hack, alongside Kay Adams and ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky.

"The NFLPA Classic isn't just about golf — it's about competition, camaraderie, and having a great time on the course," said JC Tretter, NFLPA Chief Strategy Officer and founder of The NFLPA Classic. "Golf should be dynamic, competitive and, most of all, fun. The NFLPA Classic is the perfect stage to showcase the players' passion for the game and their relentless competitive spirit."

NFL Draft analyst ranks position groups by strength

With the NFL Draft just around the corner, NFL Draft analyst Lance Zierlein offered his take on this year's position groups, ranking them from strongest to weakest.

Zierlein told fans that 2025 "is a great year to need D-line help" and that the running back depth "is a gift to any roster that could use another backfield weapon." He noted that in evaluating each position, he identified "star-caliber players, future starters and overall depth, concentrating largely on prospects most likely to be off the board in the first five rounds. Zierlein explained:

I weighed star players and future starters twice as heavily as overall depth, and my ranking scale ranged from 10 to 30 points. A score of 20 points or higher for a position group is considered strong.

With those parameters in mind, edge defender came in at No. 1 on Zierlein's list with 26.5 points, and running back landed at No. 2 with 24 points.

If you need edge help, it will be difficult to not come away from this draft happy. Abdul Carter is at the top of the list, but Mike Green, James Pearce, Jr., and Donovan Ezeiruaku have high ceilings as pass rushers, while Shemar Stewart and Mykel Williams are impressive physical specimens with two-way value. Day 2 of the draft will offer starters galore, with plenty of high-energy, high-aggression talent at both even-front end and 3-4 rush linebacker. What stands out, in my opinion, is the sheer number of future starters and high-quality rotational players that should be available into the deeper stages of the fourth round.

Being that Minnesota has been projected in several mock drafts to take a cornerback, let's take a look at what Zierlein said around that position; he assigned the group 17 points, which tied for seventh place in the rankings.

The 2024 cornerback crop outperformed where I had it rated last year, but this class is much lighter on overall talent. Travis Hunter (who, as I mentioned above, is considered only as a member of the CB group in this article) is the headliner and the real deal. Will Johnson needs to run and put up a good 40 time to prove himself as a scheme-independent cornerback, but he has tremendous instincts and ball skills as a first-rounder. There figures to be a run on future starting cornerbacks in the second round and into the early third, but the middle class is lacking this year. Cornerback is a premium position and will be drafted as such into the middle rounds, but it feels like the floors on some of those prospects are a little lower than usual.

Interior offensive line's 17 points matched cornerbacks.

This ranking could change drastically if a team were to move Amand Membou, Will Campbell or Kelvin Banks, Jr., to guard, but that won't happen unless the prospect fails at tackle first. Donovan Jackson, Tyler Booker and Grey Zabel (Zabel can play guard or center) are this year's "big three" inside, and there's a noticeable dropoff after those players. Tate Ratledge and Wyatt Milum are brawling future starting guards as probable Day 2 selections, but if your team doesn't prioritize the interior inside the first 100-to-110 picks, it might as well wait until the fifth round for a depth-level prospect.

Click here to dive into Zierlein's full position rankings.

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