Friday Mailbag: Receiver, anyone?

Vikings fans want to know what the team is going to do at receiver

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By Matthew Coller

Folks, we’re almost there. It was a great camp and I’d like to welcome all the new subscribers and thank everyone for following along. Now it’s almost time for football. Let’s gets into your questions…

Adam…. After some weaknesses last season (punt returns, punting, kicking post-injury return), loss of a few core ST players (Mundt, Sherfield) has enough been done to fix the special teams? If we want to go deep in the post-season, small margins will count!

Not keeping Sherfield is a little strange because he was really good at the gunner role. It’s possible that they saw Tim Jones and Tavierre Thomas as being similar talents in that area and figured that one of them would emerge and hold down the same role. I’m not so sure about that but we’ve only seen a handful of live special teams plays with those guys on the field (and Jones has committed a penalty about 50% of the time).

I think Bo Richter and Jay Ward have developed into quality special teamers but there are a lot of questions otherwise. Last year they used Theo Jackson, Brian Asamoah, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Dallas Turner and Sherfield more than almost anyone else on the team and all of those guys are either gone or bumped to bigger roles on defense. It’s a pretty serious concern when you consider how many more kick returns teams are going to have to cover this year. That’s not even to mention the returning situation.

I do think it’s really hard to build a great special teams unit year after year because guys are developing there and moving up into other spots as players leave in free agency (like Jackson taking over for Bynum).

Jason… Any chatter about the Vikings' perceived "weak spot" has centered around the CB position. My question is: how good do they really have to be? I submit they don't have to be lock-down corners. With the additions of Hargrave and Allen on the D-Line and the hoped for/expected growth of Jalen Redmond and Dallas Turner (among others), the pass rushing weapons seem to have improved markedly. And they were already near the top of the league last year in sacks and pressures. I think opposing QBs will have even less time to attack our secondary this year. Thoughts?

Last year probably gave you a good barometer on that. When you consider how they taped and glued parts of that secondary together and still ended up as a top-five defense, it tells you that pressure can do a lot of damage. But here’s the concern: When they played the Lions and Rams, the veteran quarterbacks were able to get rid of the ball quicker and find the weak points in the defense. They had to rank No. 1 in interceptions and fourth in sacks last year to get to the top five ranking. Are they going to be able to do that again when they play a schedule with Burrow, Jackson, Daniels, Hurts, Herbert, Prescott etc.?

And even with all of those splash plays, they still gave up the fourth most passing yards. Just pulled this up: Guess how many teams that have gone to the Super Bowl allowed over 4,000 yards passing? Seven. Out of 118 teams to make it in the Super Bowl era. Pretty much tells you that “bend don’t break” is bogus.

How about this for more proof that the secondary better carry its weight: Pro-Football Reference lists Dallas as the defense that created the highest pressure percentage last year and their defense was brutal because they couldn’t cover anyone. Oh, and that pressure percentage was 30%, meaning 70% of passes were from clean pockets. Gotta cover!

That said, I have liked what I’ve seen from Isaiah Rodgers and Theo Jackson in camp. Jeff Okudah… we’ll see.

Michael… Hey! Question for a mailbag or your next live - I’m in Europe currently for a few weeks and the time difference doesn’t always work - do you think the Vikings brass will ask the Pats about David Andrews and how he was or why he was let go and if he’s worth signing etc (if that’s even in the realm of possibility)? Obviously they think Bradbury is an upgrade but as a backup would Andrews be better than Jurgens? Pulling for Jurgens but with Kelly’s injury history…

Hey Michael, enjoy Europe, my friend!

Andrews announced his retirement a little while back. Maybe someone could convince him to come out of retirement if there was a major injury and he had a chance to start but otherwise it looks like he’s done.

I think Jurgens has really recovered from a tough start to training camp. He has a 72.2 PFF grade for the two preseason games and has mostly been solid. If we look around the NFL for quality backup centers, it’s hard to find too many. If he can be their Mason Cole or Austin Schlottmann, it will be fine for a couple games. At this point, with as many complexities as there are in this offense, I think it’s probably better to have someone who has been here for two years than an outsider.

Mike… Harrison Smith’s extended time away seems odd. Any need for concern?

It’s the Vikings, so you never know. I haven’t heard anything to suggest it’s a concern but I’ll always have Terence Newman’s surprise retirement in my head from 2018.

Bekwelem… I feel like our special teams as a whole (minus kicker) historically under KOC never seems to quite hit the highs that our defense and offense tends to hit. Do you think it’s coaching, or that we don’t seem to pay as much attention to getting high end talent in that room as some other teams do? Or just luck, or maybe another reason?

One thing I’ll say is that it’s really hard to figure out whether a team has good special teams or not. We mostly don’t notice them unless something is going bad. The metrics we have on last year were not bad outside of the return game. They were 8th by PFF grade, 4th best by punt returns against and they only let opponents return 14 kicks all year. One of them was bad versus Chicago. For as much as Ryan Wright gets ripped on, they were 6th in percentage of punts that went inside the 20-yard line last year.

If they repeat those numbers again, special teams won’t be an area that hurts them. Will they be able to do that considering all the special teamers that are turning over this year? Plus the fact that they can’t just kick the ball out of the end zone anymore? That I’m not sure.

Where it’s hard to see improvement is the return game. They running out UDFAs and rookies and Ty Chandler or Zavier Scott. Unless one of those guys turns out to be a hidden gem, it’s tough to see huge improvement.

Kye B… Redmond. What do you think his actual upside is in the regular season? I get that they felt good enough to move on from Phillips and camp reports have been good, but have there been specific instances that have stood out to you?

His upside is probably what you saw last year with more snaps. He has a quickness and relentlessness to his game that makes him difficult to stop. There were so many times where he was instantly in the backfield on run plays last year and I think that’s something that he will keep doing. He can definitely grow as a pass rusher too.

The interesting thing about Redmond is that because he played in the XFL, he’s viewed as a random project guy but he was projected by NFL.com as a fifth-round pick when he came out in the draft and scored an 88 out of 100 on NFL.com’s athleticism score. There was apparently an issue with blood clots and he doesn’t have the biggest frame but it’s not totally random that he’s turned into a dude. I’ll try a player comp on for size for his ceiling: BJ Hill from Cincinnati.

Bill B… Could you name a couple of WRs that are young and inexpensive, that are possibly available via trade. Along the same line, what is Thielen’s contract look like over the next couple years?

If there were young, inexpensive and available wide receivers on the market, the Vikings would have them already. Teams just don’t part ways with those types of guys. That’s why I’ve been frustrated at the number of people who are like “Adam Thielen is cooked, don’t get him!” As if there are a dozen Jordan Addisons hanging around. That’s why KOC and Kwesi keep drafting receivers. You can’t get your hands on them if they are any good. Tutu Atwell, a bad receiver, got $10 million this offseason. So I got nothin as far as young, talented receivers who are available.

As far as Thielen goes, he’s a free agent after this year. It’s a one-year rental. If they end up paying something like a 3rd/4th pick swap and a 6th rounder for him, that’s similar to what they got Cam Robinson for.

Brad L…What impact do you foresee on the “locker room” from the Phillips trade? Looking to the WRs, would you rather trade for a guy or wait for cuts to see who might, surprisingly, be available?

Phillips was a great leader for the team and voted a captain last year for a reason but I don’t see any locker room impact from his departure. That’s not a disrespect to him, more respect for the guys on the D-line. I don’t think that players like Allen, Hargrave, Van Ginkel and Greenard are going to have anything change because of his exit and the younger players have veterans to learn from. A team with this many experienced players understands that it’s all just part of the business.

The wide receiver thing is a little bit like playing the “what’s behind Door No. 2” game. When you look at the trade and cut options, there are more guys with experience that could be traded like Adam Thielen or Kendrick Bourne. But the cut options sometimes unveil a guy who might have a little more potential like Trey Palmer or Malachi Corley. Then again, if they had potential, they wouldn’t be cut, right?

It’s not an easy place to be right now.

Ben B… If the Vikings are in win-now, Super Bowl mode, wouldn’t it make it more likely for them to take a big swing at WR if they feel they have to sign a player that will be relied upon for suns production? It makes less sense to me to sign a marginal starter than to go for an established player, especially with Addison being out three games, Moore lost for the season, and Nailor injured and lacking a reliable, WR2 resume to this point.

Yeah, but I’m not sure what the “big swing” is supposed to be. Teams simply do not give up good wide receivers unless they are disgruntled. I don’t think they are going to try to trade for Terry McLaurin or Tyreek Hill because Washington isn’t moving Scary Terry and Hill is probably not for sale (and possibly crazy). Unless you’re counting Thielen as a big swing.

If your point is: Go get the best possible guy for 2025 because this is one of your “window to win” years and you have to do everything possible, then I totally agree with you. Maybe that means begging Amari Cooper or giving Gabe Davis a shot. This isn’t a situation to sit around and see what you have in 27-year-old UDFAs (and I say that with respect to those guys).

Matt D.. I’m talking myself into the Thielen thing a little more each day. 1k yards receiving two years ago. 615 yards last year in 10 games, which would be over 1k on 17 games. He isn’t quite the tackle breaking screen merchant I think they really need but he would still be a great short yardage possession and red zone target. His salary isn’t as bad I thought for this season and they just cleared more cap room. Any downsides that you see other than the draft compensation?

I keep going back to the idea that if Thielen was named Bob Johnson and we just looked at his stats over the last two years, it would be a no-brainer. I think some folks reject the idea because it seems too gosh golly gee darn Minnesotan to bring him back but it’s just the best option right now. He hasn’t even had good QB play over the last two years and he’s caught over 75% of his targets.

Even the draft compensation can’t be that bad if there isn’t any kind of bidding war. I like the idea a lot. If Thielen gives you three decent games as a top-three receiver and ends up with 30 catches, that’s worth late-round picks.

Clark S…Worst NFL uniforms? I say Titans. Who do you think wins Comeback player of the year? Could be JJ.

100% Titans. The Jaguars have never recovered from their jersey change. You know who always gets left out of these conversations because they are good but their jerseys really do nothing for me: Baltimore Ravens. Looks like an XFL team.

JJ as comeback player is reasonable, though it’s a little odd to me because he never got started. I think of “comeback” player as someone who is making a comeback, not debuting. Javon Hargrave might not be a big enough name but he might be a good pick. Give it to Joe Flacco again! Everything is a total disaster in Dallas but Dak Prescott is a decent bet. They had the No. 1 offense two years ago. What if Anthony Richardson gets in the game by Week 6 and leads the Colts to the playoffs? Who knows.

Florian K… You mentioned a while ago that Jefferson really didn't need much camp. It has also been reported that JJ and Jefferson were getting together during the off season to work together. Is it possible that KOC kept Jefferson out of practice longer than necessary, using his hammy as an excuse, to get the other WRs more reps and show that JJ can operate the offense without Jefferson? They have plenty of time between now and Chicago without the glare of Media to work on their timing and such. We saw the video snippets of Jefferson running and bouncing around and looking completely fine for a while now.

Nah, if Jefferson was 100%, then he would have been practicing this week. I could see an argument for him sitting out the joint practices but not the final few days of camp including the scrimmage where McCarthy threw 33 passes. That would have been the time to come back if he was really ready.

When I said that he didn’t need much camp — and I know he doesn’t — I didn’t think he would miss the entire thing. It has reached the point where that’s a touch concerning because he’s going to take on such a massive role over the first three weeks without Addison.

TJG76…Hearing a lot about WR trades, but is a Backup QB (Anthony Richardson?) trade in the works too?