Vikings Looking to Get Jalen Reagor More Involved in Their Offense
The Vikings' longest play in their win over the Jets came via a guy who was only on the field for two offensive snaps all game.
Before the season began, the Vikings traded a couple late-round picks to the Eagles for Jalen Reagor, the 2020 first-round pick who was infamously drafted one spot before Justin Jefferson. He's been a fine addition as their punt returner, averaging a modest seven yards per return. Offensively, though, he's been nothing more than an occasional gadget player.
When he's been on the field, Reagor has made plays. He just hasn't been on the field very often. He had his biggest game of the season on Sunday, catching a 38-yard pass and taking an end-around for eight yards, but those were his only two snaps. Reagor's athleticism was obvious on the long reception, as he got the Jets' safety turned around before breaking towards the middle of the field and adjusting to an underthrown ball.
Reagor now has 112 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown on eight touches this season, an average of 14 yards per touch. He's done that on a grand total of 40 offensive snaps, exceeding four snaps only in blowout losses against the Eagles and Cowboys.
"That’s what I do," Reagor told Chris Tomasson. "That’s what I’m here to do. So that’s a routine play for me. Been doing it all my life. ... Everybody wants their number called (more often). But when they do call my number, I’m going to make the play every time."
Considering Reagor's athleticism and efficiency, it's worth wondering if the Vikings will get him more involved in the final month of the regular season. In theory, his speed and agility could make him quite the dangerous weapon in the postseason. Everything the Vikings' coaches have said this week suggests that that's something they want to do, but they've also pointed out that acclimating to their offense has been a process for Reagor, who didn't have the whole offseason to learn the system.
"I’m proud of where Jalen’s at," Kevin O'Connell said this week. "We’ve tried to start infusing him more and more in the offense. Every week, we’re allowing him to grow and understanding that he didn’t have the teaching progression that a lot of our players had within the confines of our whole offense. A few weeks back, I challenged Jalen. I said, 'Hey, the more and more comfortable you can get and feel like you can go out and execute all the different jobs, maybe even at multiple positions, the more opportunity I want you to get.'"
"Whether we’re getting him the ball as a phase of our run game or screen game or just having him in there as one of our 11 guys in the huddle, I think he brings a dimension to our offense that helps us. I think he’s an explosive player — he’s proven that as our punt returner, good with the ball in his hands — and I think he’s really done a nice job of getting with Keenan McCardell and (assistant WRs coach) Tony Sorrentino and just continued to play catchup on some time that he wasn’t with us, in the hopes here that as games click off and we get into December and hopefully beyond, that he can be a factor for us. We’ll continue to find ways to get him on the field. I think he’s earned that opportunity, and I’m really proud of where Jalen’s at and hopefully where he’s headed."
At this point, Reagor has been with the Vikings for over three full months. He knows the playbook. But it's a bit more complicated than that. There are a lot of little nuances to things like alignments and routes and blocking schemes, and Reagor wasn't around in the spring and summer to receive those coaching points when the offense was installed.
"There’s just details, there’s a lot of things in an offense that just aren’t written on paper, aren’t in the playbook," offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. "'Hey, you need to tighten down a little bit here, a little bit wider here,' there’s things that just aren’t on drawings that kind of have to be coached through. Guys have gotten those details throughout training camp and even the spring when we first started installing. He’s just being a sponge, he’s learning every day and he’s continued to progress in a positive way."
Reagor's physical tools are undeniable. He racked up over 2,500 yards from scrimmage and 26 total touchdowns in three seasons at TCU, including a couple punt returns for scores, and turned that into becoming a first-round draft pick. Reagor has 4.47 speed, touching 21.25 miles per hour on a punt return this season (per Next Gen Stats). That's the 14th-fastest speed recorded by an NFL ballcarrier this season, exceeded among Vikings only by Dalvin Cook on his long touchdown run in Buffalo. Reagor has a remarkably explosive lower body, evidenced by his 42-inch vertical jump and 138-inch broad jump, both of which rank in the 97th percentile or better among wide receivers.
Then there's his shiftiness, which was on full display during his first Vikings touchdown back in Week 5. Bears All-Pro linebacker Roquan Smith was in perfect position to make a play, but Reagor made him miss with ease.
“You can see right away when we got Jalen why he was a first-round pick," Phillips said. "He’s explosive, he’s strong, he can get in and out of breaks, transition well."
Reagor didn't nearly live up to expectations over two seasons in Philadelphia, struggling with route-running and drops, among other things. But the Vikings don't need him to be a full-time receiver; they have Jefferson and Adam Thielen for that.
The question is whether or not Reagor will start to become more than a gadget player who sees 2-4 snaps per week. It seemingly makes sense to keep getting him on the field more and more, especially considering No. 3 receiver K.J. Osborn ranks near the bottom of the league in PFF receiving grade, yards per route run, and passer rating when targeted. Coaches have praised Osborn's run blocking ability, but he's not nearly as dynamic an athlete as Reagor.
Instead of Reagor playing two snaps per game, could that number turn into 10 or 15 or even 20? That would allow him to get more touches, and the Vikings could also use his athleticism as a decoy to open things up for other members of the offense.
With the Vikings having all but sealed the NFC North, these final five regular season games could be a good time to experiment with expanding Reagor's role.
He's ready for it.
"He’s definitely grown mentally, I would say is the biggest thing for him," special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said. "His studies, his preparation, you’re starting to see him a lot more involved talking with Kirk, getting in the ear of Thielen, surrounding himself around those veteran players.
"As these games start to come on down the line, JR’s going to start to have huge impacts, not only from a punt return standpoint, but also from an offensive standpoint."
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