Minnesota Vikings Wide Receiver Derby: Reggie Wayne
By brianaker
As we all continue to debate which free agent wide receiver we want to see in a Minnesota Vikings jersey in 2012, the names most frequently mentioned are Vincent Jackson and Dwayne Bowe. While both are wonderful targets, let me throw a name at you that is almost being forgotten: Reggie Wayne. Thanks to the Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay, apparently wanting to move in a different direction, and showing more interest in re-signing Colts wide-out Pierre Garcon, it seems Reggie Wayne will most likely be a free agent who is up for grabs. Sure when you think about the incredible size and talents of V-Jax, maybe Wayne isn’t the “sexier” option to shoot for…but maybe he’s a little more realistic of an option. As I mentioned
in my previous “…Wide Receiver Derby…” post, there are going to be a TON of teams throwing a TON of money at Vincent Jackson. With so much focus on Vincent Jackson, Reggie Wayne could actually slip under the radar, and end up a Viking for less money than it would take to sign Jackson, which is a little bit crazy if you actually think about it. Reggie’s career stats are out of this world! How about 862 receptions for 11,708 yards and 73 touchdowns? Try that on for size! Not to mention an average of 13.6 yards per catch with 618 first downs! Yeah, now you like the sound of Reggie Wayne in purple now, don’t you? I know I do!
The only knock on Reggie Wayne is the whole “he’s old and washed up”, thing. Personally, I don’t buy that. At 33 years old he’s no spring chick anymore, but with his pure athletic ability he definitely has at least a few more good years left in him. This past season was only the first time since 2003 that Reggie didn’t have 1,000 yards receiving, and even then he still had around 960, playing for the absolute worst team in the NFL (they didn’t get the # 1 overall pick in the upcoming draft for being the BEST team in the NFL). I can see him amassing over the 1,000 yard mark on our team for sure. With the likes of Percy Harvin and Adrian Peterson taking the spot-light off of #87 a bit, he should excel in our offense. He would definitely give Christian Ponder that deep threat receiver he needs to help open up the passing game! Opposing defenses would have to respect our deep ball then, and not blitz quite as often as they did against us in 2011. See how just one man CAN make a difference? Don’t get me wrong, football is definitely a team sport, but when you have a deep threat receiver who can play the sidelines as well as Reggie Wayne does, it makes a HUGE difference. I’ve never seen a receiver with better field presence. He makes so many of those catches at the sideline where you have to have such intense focus to make sure you have control of the ball AND keep two feet in bounds before being knocked out of bounds…it’s just unreal! His abilities are so unreal in fact, that he reminds me of another Mr. Wayne with awesome abilities. That’s right, Bruce Wayne. Reggie Wayne is the Batman of the NFL!
All in all if I had to describe Reggie Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, in one word, that word would be MONEY. The guy is money! In 173 games played he has a total of 8 fumbles, and only 5 of those were lost! He is Mister Reliable, and we would be lucky to have him as a Minnesota Viking entering the upcoming season. If you don’t believe me just watch some of his highlight videos on YouTube. After that if you don’t get excited about Reggie Wayne possibly becoming a Viking, you’d better check your pulse! Verdict: Is Reggie Wayne a legit target for the Minnesota Vikings to pursue this offseason? Yes. Is he a likely acquisition for our Minnesota Vikings to actually land this offseason? I’m going to go out on a limb here, and say yes! That doesn’t mean I think we should give up on Vincent Jackson and Dwayne Bowe altogether. It just means I would be more than happy to have Batman playing for the Vikings if they can’t land Superman. I always thought Superman was over-rated anyways!