Wide Receiver
The battle to see who will round out the Vikings’ wide receiver depth chart will be the best one in training camp this year.
The only two spots that are guaranteed are at the top as Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs will, once again, be the top two targets for Kirk Cousins in the passing game. Who is next up is the big question.
It’s not just the third wide receiver job that is there for the taking. The fourth and fifth wide receiver spots are also wide open.
Minnesota rolled with six wide receivers a season ago so there are realistically four receiver jobs up for grabs for 2019.
The guys who will be competing for those spots are Laquon Treadwell, Chad Beebe, Brandon Zylstra, Jeff Badet, Jordan Taylor, Dillon Mitchell, Olabisi Johnson, Davion Davis, and Alexander Hollins. So basically, it’s nine guys battling for four spots.
This is going to be a very healthy competition. The Vikings seem to be high on both of their 2019 seventh-round draft picks and each brings something a little different to the table.
Johnson is a smooth route runner and more technically sound while Mitchell is more explosive and he has a little more size to him. Usually, seventh-round picks are longshots to make a final roster, but both of these guys have a good chance just because of the current state of Minnesota’s wide receiver depth chart.
Of the veterans who are returning, Treadwell could have the toughest time making the team. He has been nothing but a disappointment since being drafted in the first round back in 2016.
He battled drops a season ago and then he lost his job to street free agent Aldrick Robinson. The team knows what it has in Treadwell and he’ll likely have to play out of his mind this preseason to earn a spot with the Vikings in 2019.
Of the other vets with experience, Beebe is very undersized, but he played well at times in 2018. He runs smooth routes and he has sure hands.
Zylstra made the squad a season ago, but he didn’t do much when he was out there. Free agent Jordan Taylor is a wild card but he does have something this receiving corps lacks and that is size. He’s 6-foot-4, 204 pounds, and he could be that jump ball guy in the red zone that wasn’t there a season ago for Minnesota.
Again this competition should be wide open and each guy should be given a fair shot at making this team. It’s very hard to predict at this point who will end up being one of the chosen, but the overall talent level seems to be much better in 2019 than it was last year at this same time.