Vikings' receiver depth is becoming clearer – and maybe stronger than expected
EAGAN — When training camp began, there were a few questions on the table that have mostly been answered after three weeks of practices and two preseason games.
For starters, we wondered if KJ Osborn would maintain his hold on WR3 or if anyone would challenge his spot. He almost instantly shook off that notion with a number of strong showings in practice. On Saturday, he stood alongside Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen on the sideline and watched the others battle for position. It’s not a duo now, it’s a trio.
We asked if veteran Albert Wilson would make a run at carving out a role — maybe he could be a pure slot guy in an offense that consistently uses three-receiver personnel groupings. Wilson had been pretty effective in some of his previous stops, gaining over 500 yards with Kansas City in 2017 and caught 94 passes in 34 games over his last three seasons in Miami. By the end of the first preseason game, Wilson was out of the competition for spot. While he toasted a Raiders corner for a long touchdown, it took place in the fourth quarter, a spot that no veteran would be seen if they were going to make the team. He was cut loose on Monday.
We opined about Bisi Johnson’s return from ACL surgery. Could he pick up where he left off or would he be left behind with another group of developing receivers around to chase him down? Johnson has been one of the most reliable players at his position day after day. The high IQ that got him on the field as a seventh-rounder in 2019 has carried over to the new system. Despite his lack of raw athletic talents, being in the right place at right time has plenty of value.
“I see Bisi doing consistent things, doing so many things to help our offense,” head coach Kevin O’Connell said.
On two separate occasions Kirk Cousins mentioned that he believed Johnson was going in a good direction before he got hurt and noted that he was trustworthy in fill-in situations.
“Bisi’s kind of a guy who’s kind of a jack of all trades,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “He’s detailed in the pass game with his routes. He’s strong – in route contact, he’s very strong, and then he does a lot of dirty work. I think you’ve seen in some of these games – I mean, he’s cutting off defensive ends on the back side. He’s inserting on some of our gap-scheme runs on safeties that are playing hard downhill. The touchdown we had in the game that Ty Chandler scored, Bisi stuck his face right in there and the safety was hitting him pretty hard in there.”
Whether Johnson is WR4 or WR5 may still be up in the air, though coaches usually lean toward consistency over flash. That flash has come from Ihmir Smith-Marsette.
“Ihmir's got pure ability that everybody can see,” O’Connell said.
Smith-Marsette has caught seven passes on eight targets in preseason for 58 yards. He had a tremendous long touchdown on the final day of joint practices against the 49ers but doesn’t appear to have mastered the details in the same way as Johnson. He’s bobbled a catch, dropped a pass, fumbled a kick return, dropped a kickoff — things that would bring some hesitation about putting him on the field too often. But Smith-Marsette may have opened the door to a role and future growth in that spot.
In that way the Vikings have gotten close to the best-case scenario. They can walk out of camp with a reliable receiver and high-upside receiver as WR4 and WR5, in whatever order they choose. It wasn’t clear at the start that they would have anything to write home about at either spot.
The question that hasn’t been answered yet is whether there will be a WR6. Trishton Jackson, who spent time with the Rams in 2020 and was on the Vikings’ practice squad last year, has consistently seen second-team reps and has three receptions for 43 yards in preseason action. Trailing behind are rookie Jalen Nailor, who has four catches for 33 yards, and second year former UDFA Myron Mitchell with two grabs for 37 yards.
“I felt that group pressing a little bit tonight but across the board, we feel very good about our depth,” O’Connell said about the competing receivers.
The Vikings could cut Jackson and Mitchell with the sense that they would be easier to slide through to the practice squad than a sixth-round pick that another team might have had eyes on — although we have not often seen teams pluck draft picks that have been cut out of camp. The only one in recent memory was 2018 sixth-round linebacker Elijah Lee.
They might need room for other spots and cut all of them. The running back position is likely to have five players on the roster, for example.
As the Vikings head into the third preseason game, there aren’t many questions left but which depth receiver can make a case for the 53-man or practice squad is still up in the air.
Related: Jefferson, Thielen snubbed as PFF predicts 1,000-yard WR duos
Related: Will Jefferson be considered the best WR in football soon?
