Duluth Native C.J. Ham Hits Major Milestone, Joins Exclusive Company In Vikings History

After Sunday's game against the Panthers, Minnesota Vikings fullback C.J. Ham hit a major career milestone and joined some exclusive company among Vikings players throughout history.

Ham, who was a Duluth Denfeld football standout, went on to play his collegiate football at Division II Augustana. Following college, he was one of two Minnesota-born players in recent memory to go on to join the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent and find success.

Ham signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2016, initially joining the team as a running back before transitioning to the position of fullback. His first NFL touchdown, albeit in the preseason, came in his first year with the team. You can watch that video here.

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C.J. didn't make the active roster with the Vikings until 2017, making a splash early in his career on the 53-man roster. He scored his first (regular season) NFL touchdown in Week 2 of the 2017 season against the Steelers.

Since those early days, C.J. has amassed 100 career games with his hometown Minnesota Vikings, a feat by itself that is exciting. While it is a significant milestone, it isn't nearly as exclusive of a club as this next category.

The number of Vikings players with 100 or more career games in purple and gold is sizable. The number of undrafted free agents with 100 career games with the Vikings is much smaller.

C.J. became just one of four offensive players to hold that honor in the team's history. Those other three players? Not bad company to be in!

After Sunday's game, C.J. joined Mick Tingelhoff, Leo Lewis, and Adam Thielen as the only offensive players in Minnesota Vikings history with at least 100 career games after joining the team as an undrafted player.

Ham has a ways to go to catch up to the total number of games these players had with the team, but he's well on his way!

• Mick Tingelhoff: 240 games
• Leo Lewis: 140 games
• Adam Thielen 135 games

Furthermore, C.J. became only the third player from Minnesota to reach this mark, joining Adam Thielen and punt returner Marcus Sherels.

The Minnesota Vikings also shared with Ham joining this club, he also surpassed Harold Morrow for most career games played by an undrafted fullback in Vikings history. Morrow played 99 games with the team.

Ham is also second in team history for most career games by a Vikings fullback, following Bill Brown, who had 180 games under his belt.

In Ham's 100 games with the team, he has 97 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, but his hands have helped him rack up some impressive receiving stats for a fullback. C.J. has 624 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns through the air.

So cool! Here's to many more games for C.J. in Vikings Purple!