Vikings OTA Recap, 6/6: Depth Receivers Continue to Compete
The Vikings held their final OTA practice open to reporters on Tuesday at TCO Performance Center. Next up, in a week's time, is mandatory minicamp on Tuesday the 13th and Wednesday the 14th.
Unsurprisingly, the big three stars with contract situations — Justin Jefferson, Danielle Hunter, and Dalvin Cook — were all absent once again. If nothing changes in the next week and that remains the case at next week's minicamp, they'll be subject to fines.
Jordan Addison, Brian O'Neill, Harrison Phillips, and James Lynch are among the players who are still dealing with injuries and not participating. T.J. Hockenson and Christian Darrisaw appeared to get the day off for non-injury reasons. Notably, rookie running back DeWayne McBride was in action after previously being held out with a hamstring injury.
The most obvious story of OTAs continues to be the development and competition when it comes to the Vikings' depth options at wide receiver. With no Jefferson or Addison (or Adam Thielen, obviously), K.J. Osborn has taken over as the leader of that room for the time being. He has shown a remarkable chemistry with Kirk Cousins, working as his clear top target on Tuesday with no Hockenson.
Jalen Nailor was probably the biggest standout of the first two OTAs we got to watch, but his reps seemed to be scaled back a bit during this practice — perhaps because he's already proven quite a bit. That meant lots of first-team work for Jalen Reagor, Brandon Powell, and Trishton Jackson.
It's an interesting trio. Reagor is a former first-round pick with plenty of athleticism who is entering a contract year. Powell, who was with the Rams the last two seasons, is a shifty 5'8" gadget player and return specialist. Jackson, a former Rams UDFA, might actually have the most upside of that group. He's 6'1", 190 pounds with 4.5 speed, and he was particularly impressive on Tuesday.
Jackson made a great twisting catch from Cousins up the left sideline during 7 on 7s. Then, when the Vikings ended their practice in a situational drill — the offense trailed 23-21 with 55 seconds left — Cousins stood tall against a Josh Metellus safety blitz and hit Jackson for the key gain that set up Greg Joseph's "game-winning" field goal. Jackson, a former 1,000-yard receiver at Syracuse, has stuck around on the Vikings' practice squad for the last two seasons, spanning multiple coaching staffs. Could this be the year he earns a roster spot and makes his NFL debut?
Reagor also made some plays on Tuesday, as did Powell. With the second unit, undrafted rookie WR Thayer Thomas was a standout. It's going to be fun to watch the depth at receiver shake out during minicamp and training camp.
"We've got a lot of guys mixed in and a lot of guys playing a lot of different positions," offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. "Sometimes guys are a little more 'You're an X always' or 'You're a Z always,' we've got some guys that have been able to switch positions and kind of see some different looks from what they're used to, maybe, in the run game and the pass game. Individual guys that are standing out, the K.J. Osborns, the Jalen Nailors. It's been great to see Jalen Reagor with a full install from ground zero to come out here and have a little bit better chance to get the details."
Other notes from Tuesday:
- Vederian Lowe filled in for Darrisaw at left tackle. Oli Udoh has been at RT in O'Neill's place this offseason.
- Metellus got a lot of work at safety, rotating with Cam Bynum opposite Harrison Smith and sometimes playing as a third safety. He had a PBU in the end zone at one point in 11s.
- Lewis Cine wasn't as involved with the first team. Along with Brian Asamoah and Patrick Jones II, he was out there with the second unit during the situational period. It's still too early for that to mean much.
- Mekhi Blackmon made some plays during 7s and spent some time in the slot in 11s.
- Rookie Andre Carter II, now wearing Za'Darius Smith's old No. 55, got reps with the 2s at EDGE.
- During the second unit's situational drill, Nick Mullens completed passes to Powell and Thomas to set up a Jack Podlesny "game-winner."
- Both kickers, Joseph and Podlesny, appeared to be perfect on 6 kicks from up to 51 yards to conclude practice.
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