K.J. Osborn trained with Pro Bowlers; now he's taking the lead as the top WR3 candidate
K.J. Osborn trained with Pro Bowlers; now he's taking the lead as the top WR3 candidate
Osborn's work at practice so far is earning him praise from every corner
By Sam Ekstrom
EAGAN — Through the various stages of his career, K.J. Osborn has tried to surround himself with the best.
Whether it was transferring to the prestigious IMG Academy his senior year of high school, training in the summers at Wide Receiver Nation in his home state of Michigan or spending his most recent offseason at the House of Athlete in Miami, Osborn has never been shy to seek out, and learn from, those that can help him master the wide receiving craft.
Osborn’s efforts have continually enabled him to exceed expectations. In college, his success allowed him to transfer from mid-major Buffalo to Miami of the ACC. His pre-combine training helped turn him from an undrafted prospect to a fifth-round Vikings draft pick, and his latest summer of work alongside Justin Jefferson, Jarvis Landry and Stefon Diggs has positioned him to come from off the pace and compete for Minnesota’s third wide receiver job.
“I've been working my butt off,” Osborn told Purple Insider after a recent practice. “I've been working my butt off, just trying to work my craft and be better every day. Last year wasn't the year that I wanted, and I came back, I locked in. It's my second year. Anything you do, if you do it for a year, the second year is probably going to be a little bit better. I know the organization, I'm starting to know the league a little bit. I'm more comfortable, comfortable with my coaches, and I kind of relaxed a little bit and let my God-given ability take over. And I’m also learning.”
Learning from the elite of the elite.
He spent his summer running routes alongside two players in Diggs and Jefferson that were among the top five in receiving yards last year, and Landry, who made the Pro Bowl each of the previous five seasons. Osborn soaked up everything — he called it “stealing knowledge.” And it wasn’t just technique he was stealing.
“Mentality,” he said. “[Diggs] and Jarvis, it's their mentality. I learned a bunch of stuff on the field too, the stuff that we do, but when we get water during those breaks and we have these little short talks, and you can just see their mentality and how they attack every play, how they attack every day, the seriousness and the effort and the want-to to be great, stuff like that. That was awesome.”
If you’re looking for the most impressive highlight reel from OTAs/mini-camp/training camp, it belongs to Osborn. The second-year receiver has delivered daily highlights and earned himself a majority of the snaps as the third receiver behind Jefferson and Adam Thielen. With new acquisition Dede Westbrook still sidelined as he recovers from an ACL tear, and third-year receiver Bisi Johnson suffering an ACL injury of his own, Osborn has seized the opportunity to become a trusted pass-catcher from an offense that excluded him in his rookie season.
But the steps toward improvement began long before Osborn showed up to Eagan last week.
Osborn’s worked during the summer with Mo Wells, a well-known athletic trainer that has instructed numerous NFL luminaries, and even some outside of football like Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant. Wells and Osborn met years ago when Osborn was playing at the prominent IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., at the same time Wells was a trainer there. Wells eventually set up shop in Miami, where Osborn played a year of college football in 2019, so the two reconnected after Osborn’s time with the Hurricanes to get Osborn ready for the draft.
“Me, Justin, Cam [Dantzler], there's about six guys with the Vikings that all trained with Mo,” Osborn said.
Thanks in part to Wells, Osborn ran a 4.48 40-yard dash before the 2020 draft to bolster his draft stock. A former sprinter, Wells specializes in aiding his athletes in their movement skills and increasing speed. For instance, Jefferson’s primary focuses with Wells last summer were balance and explosiveness.
Wells was so impressed with Osborn after their 2020 sessions, however, that he called for Osborn to be the steal of the draft that April, and in a February Q&A with Zenger News, Wells shouted out Osborn as one of the players he was most proud of.
Osborn clearly made an impression on Wells, but you wouldn’t have predicted Osborn’s emergence based on his 2020 season in Minnesota. While Osborn was offered a chance to be the team’s punt returner, he was basically given a redshirt year on offense with zero snaps taken. The punt returning was a challenge, as was Minnesota’s entire special teams operation. Osborn finished 50th leaguewide in return yardage with a pair of fumbles.
The lack of OTAs and preseason games were noticeable for younger players like Osborn, a reality that took the rookie a little while to comprehend.
“I was a guy last year where as a rookie I was like, I didn't really care if we didn't have preseason, I kind of wanted to just hit it,” Osborn said. “But looking back on it, I could have used it. But now that I see that having OTAs and doing some of this stuff, I'm like, 'Oh yeah, that would have definitely helped me last year.’”
His new receivers coach should be helpful, too. Just as Osborn had a serendipitous connection with Wells, he has a similar backstory with recent Vikings hire Keenan McCardell, the 16-year NFL veteran.
“It was funny because I had a long conversation with him when he was in Jacksonville and I was coming out of the draft,” Osborn recalled, “and I'm like, 'I like that coach.' My dad talked to him, he liked that coach, and he'd seen him play when he played [for Jacksonville], and then when he saw that he got hired here, he went, 'Oh, that's great.’”
So far, McCardell has earned rave reviews from each Vikings receiver, most of whom remember watching him with the Jaguars in the 1990s and 2000s. His hands-on knowledge of the game appeals to established stars like Adam Thielen or aspiring late-round picks like Osborn.
“[McCardell] gives me a chance,” Osborn said. “I can be a little more comfortable. He's helped me out a lot, he played the game, so I can ask him questions, he knows. He told me he's been in every seat in the room, from lower on the depth chart, higher, No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, so he knows each and every one of our experiences, where we kind of stand from. It's great having him in the room, he understands and he's an awesome teacher and a good guy.”
Osborn believes he can be more than a slot receiver, and his deep receptions during training camp would support that notion. It helps, too, that many of his recent big plays have come against first-team defenses.
Some pundits might have stuck Osborn behind Westbrook, Johnson, Chad Beebe and Ihmir-Smith-Marsette in the WR3 battle, but there doesn’t seem to be much question that he’s at the front of the pack, at least until Westbrook fully returns.
Fans might think his emergence came out of nowhere, but understanding Osborn’s appetite for improvement makes it less surprising.
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Great article Sam! I remember hearing good things about Osborn after he was drafted and after the season started he looked to be another bust. It's good to see him starting to excel in training camp.
I saw the headline, and didn't even need to scroll down to know who wrote it.
Then I did scroll down, and saw Sam's name, got that glorious dose of confirmation-bias dopamine, and cackled in delight.
Frankly that is worth the subscription to PI all on its own.