C.J. Ham is gone, and he’s not coming back. The longtime Minnesota Vikings fullback retired in March after a decade of service in purple, and the franchise had a decision: replace Ham or let the fullback spot die off, as so many teams have chosen in the last half-decade.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell opted for the former, emphatically providing evidence by using a 5th-round draft pick on an H-back named Max Bredeson from Michigan.
And because Bredeson is the “new C.J. Ham,” here’s what you should know.
An Unusual Road That Brought Max Bredeson to the Twin Cities
1. He Was a Quarterback — and a Zero-Star Recruit
Bredeson might’ve taken a different path in an alternate universe. At Arrowhead High School in Wisconsin, he played quarterback and won Classic 8 Conference Offensive Player of the Year despite a knee injury. Before that, a broken collarbone erased most of his junior season. Then, recruiters barely noticed. His rating: zero stars.
He walked into Ann Arbor without recruiting glamour while older brother Ben had once been a five-star prospect. Max eventually became a two-time captain and the 2025 LowMan Trophy winner as football’s top fullback. He also earned Michigan’s Toughest Player Award twice.
The dude went from almost no recruiting profile to being drafted by Minnesota in Round 5 – – an unconventional route to replace Ham.
2. His Parents Gave Him One Year to Earn a Michigan Scholarship
Michigan was always the dream, but the financial arrangement came with a stipulation and an alarm clock.
Bredeson accepted a preferred walk-on spot, meaning the family faced out-of-state tuition without scholarship help. His parents made the deal simple: one year. If Max wanted to stay, he needed to earn his way onto scholarship.
He did exactly that. Michigan awarded Bredeson a scholarship during his sophomore season, then expanded his role from tight end into the fullback world. By the end, teammates had elected him captain twice. The rise explains plenty about the player Minnesota drafted.
Bredeson was never handed the Michigan experience because of his last name. He had a brother, to be sure. The younger Bredeson still had to prove he belonged before the tuition bill completely swallowed the adventure.
3. He and J.J. McCarthy Go Way Back
J.J. McCarthy – – the Vikings’ QB2-QB3 – – and Bredeson did not meet when the Vikings smushed them together in April. Their connection also predates Michigan.
Bredeson said the two worked with the same high school quarterback coach, which is amusing because only one became a 1st-round NFL quarterback. Bredeson has joked that McCarthy turned out better at the position.
They became friends at Michigan and won a National Championship together. Then McCarthy made the relationship obvious on draft weekend. He traveled about 315 miles from Minnesota to Hartland, Wisconsin, for Bredeson’s draft party after the Vikings selected his teammate.
Minnesota now has two members of Michigan’s 2021 recruiting class sharing an NFL offense. The familiarity could make Bredeson’s rookie adjustment far less weird.
4. C.J. Ham Is Already Mentoring His Replacement
Replacing Ham would be intimidating enough without actually knowing Ham. The former Viking set a lofty standard.
Ham congratulated him after the draft, then began helping the rookie with the transition. Bredeson has since called the former Viking a great mentor and said Ham has helped him gain an edge before his first NFL season.
The relationship makes Minnesota’s fullback handoff unusually clean. Ham spent a decade in Minnesota and reached two Pro Bowls. Bredeson arrives as a 5th-round pick with the job waiting for him. Instead of pretending the old guy never existed, the new guy is asking him questions. A wise plan.
If Minnesota wanted someone to explain how a fullback survives in this offense, Ham might be the best resource on the planet.
Bredeson said about Ham last month, “I couldn’t say enough great things about C.J. and what he’s done to help me so far. He’s definitely helped me just kind of get an edge to get ahead a little bit.”
“When C.J.’s in attendance, you better have the chin strap buckled up a little extra tight, and I think there were some good plays I was able to show him.”
5. The Dude Loves the Dirty Work
Bredeson’s job description will never win a fantasy league, and that is okay. That ain’t his job. He prefers the ugly stuff anyway.
At Michigan, he became known for blocking and pass protection. His protection phrase was violent: “meet him in the trees.” Translation: attack the blitzing linebacker near the offensive line instead of waiting for impact.
Michigan named Bredeson the aforementioned Toughest Player twice, and he won the Blue Collar Award in 2025. He captured the LowMan Trophy as the nation’s top fullback. Minnesota did not draft him to chase 800 receiving yards. The Vikings want a blocker who can move around the formation and help on special teams. Thankfully, Bredeson embraces that.
6. A Role Right Away?
Bredeson is the only fullback on the 53-man roster, and training camp showed O’Connell intends to use him. Bredeson caught passes from all quarterbacks and worked as a lead blocker in the revamped rushing attack.
O’Connell has praised how quickly the rookie processes information, noting that Bredeson can hear something in a meeting and apply it without needing walkthrough repetitions. That’s useful for a player expected to align all over the offense.
The Vikings’ skipper said this summer of Bredeson, “We’re asking him to do a lot of different alignments and movements and things like that, and then he’s still able. He’s always been really good getting fit in space on blocks, but he’s also been a really physical presence for us to help get runs started.”
Ham’s old job is vacant for the first time since 2016, and the rookie is prepared to claim it.
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VikesNow Verdict: Bredeson’s path from zero-star quarterback to Michigan captain and NFL fullback is legitimately unusual, and Minnesota is ready to give him real work.
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