Rookie WR Tai Felton on transitioning to the NFL, DMV life, training with Stefon Diggs

Ahmed Ghafir
Jun 11
4 min read

Weeks after becoming the first wide receiver drafted in the Mike Locksley era, former Maryland and current Minnesota WR Tai Felton sat down on the latest episode of the St. Brown Podcast to talk about his transition to the NFL, DMV life, training with Stefon Diggs and more:

On Felton’s reaction being drafted by Minnesota

“That's awesome, man. I get to learn from one of the best in the league, bro, and then Keenan McCardell, the receiver coach, he's actually coached at Maryland with my head coach, Coach Locks, and just the track record he has, and the track record Minnesota has with the legend receivers they had with Justin Jefferson, Randy Moss, Jordan Addison, another DMV guy. So I'm blessed to be walking to the situation I'm walking into, man. I'm excited, for sure.”

On new QB, JJ McCarthy

“He went to Michigan, so I played against him a couple times. Right when I got drafted he texted me. We exchanged phone numbers and we connected.”

On being from the DMV, whether people from the DMV are different

“They are, 100%. We got a little more grit…we got a little grit to us. We definitely talk different. I’m from Virginia so they try to say Virginia is not part of the DMV. They try to say Virginia guys are sweet and stuff like that. Baltimore, they say they’re not from Maryland so it’s definitely weird. It’s a little different but we’ve got a little grit to us.”

Whether Felton wish he grew up on West Coast after being born in California

“For the weather, 100%. The weather's good, yeah, definitely everything. I have a lot of family out here and stuff too. So I wish I can go to some Lakers game, LeBron being out here and stuff like that.”

On Felton’s relationship with Stefon Diggs

“I actually worked out with him this past off season before my senior season in college. It was smooth. He was dropping some gems on us, me and some other and some other guys working out some late night work. Just keep on putting that work in, man, just dropping gems on us and stuff like that. I actually linked up with him a couple times. We worked at his camp and stuff.”

On his favorite NFL team growing up

“My dad's from Atlanta, so I was Atlanta Falcons, man. Julio Jones, Roddy White, Matt Ryan, all those guys. So a big Atlanta guy.”

Whether Felton knew Minnesota would draft him

“It was random, I can't lie, because coach McCardell, so he kind of ran my pro day. So I kind of feel for [him]. My agent said they really like you and stuff like that. When [the] draft happened, man, I didn’t know what was gonna happen. I was hearing from a lot of teams, and then we got to that 97 pick, I think, was like we were at the 90s. Like, yeah, they might take you. You're still there. So I would do stuff about it. And I ended up getting my name called so that was awesome.”

On Felton’s first impression of Justin Jefferson

“So actually, before I came up here, he was in the facility. I met him. He was like, Yo Tai, what's up? I was like, ‘oh, he know my name, hold on, that's crazy’. But we definitely dapped each other up, talked a little bit, but it was definitely crazy, because I remember seeing him at LSU that 2019 season, him griddying all over the field and stuff, balling out. So it was awesome being able to play with the guy that caliber game, being able to learn from him.”

Building the perfect NFL WR

Hands: Randy Moss

Speed: Tyreek Hill

Size: Julio Jones

Route running: Justin Jefferson

IQ/intelligence: Cooper Kupp

On Felton’s initial relationship with head coach Kevin O’Connell

“He’s a cool dude. He’s relatable, he young. He's only 39 years old, about to be 40, so he's very relatable. You could tell he's a player's coach. So he awesome dude for sure.”

On living in Minneapolis

“It’s definitely different. It's definitely different because this is my first time living outside DMV for real. So just like, trying to get around, because I'm from the suburbs, so like Minnesota, it's like, you got the city, Minneapolis, right there. Went there for like a Twins game, but it's more spread out. And it's like they said in the winter, it gets to, like, -18 degrees. So I'm just like, damn.”

On Felton’s plan with his first paycheck

“I’ve gotta take care of my peoples first. Yeah, that's the first thing. But I probably get a nice little car. NIL helped me get my first car.”

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