Jul 26, 2013; Mankato, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson (84) catches a pass during training camp at Minnesota State University. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
I wish I could come on the blog and tell you that the Vikings’ wide receiver depth chart situation is all sorted out after just one weekend of camp. But I would be lying if I told you I could. In fact, reports from Mankato have done very little to clear up the murk.
Where do we stand right now as regards the receiver corps? Well I’ve gone through all the tweets and posts and here’s what I’ve been able to glean. Greg Jennings looks like a pro. Cordarrelle Patterson has a ton of talent but no one knows for sure yet where he fits. And…
Uh, Jerome Simpson hasn’t totally stunk it up yet?
That’s pretty much all I got. I mean I wish I could come out and say such and such a guy is blowing everyone’s minds with his performance. But that hasn’t happened so far. Joe Webb has gotten some decent reviews and so has Adam Thielen. But has either of those guys begun to separate himself from the pack in the battle for the #5 spot? We’re a long way from saying that.
Of course there’s one big factor that is causing so much of this murk to persist, and that’s the Greg Childs factor. Until Childs is physically able to get on the practice field and show the goods, we won’t know for sure where he fits or even if he fits.
Childs remains the wild card in this whole deck. He is without question the most promising talent among all the guys battling for those last couple receiver spots behind the Top 4 of Jennings, Simpson, Patterson and Wright. He has the downfield skills the Vikings are looking for. But he is not out there. And until he gets out there for an extended period of time, we just don’t know what we have in him.
It doesn’t help matters either that there appear to be some general issues with the timing between the quarterbacks and receivers. But again, it’s only the first weekend of camp. All we know right now is that we don’t know anything. This coming week will be much more revealing. The pads are going on as of Monday and guys will really start getting after it.
Let’s see which of these receivers makes the biggest impression in the coming days. Will it be Joe Webb? Adam Thielen? Stephen Burton? Chris Summers? Somebody needs to step up and make it happen.
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