5 Vikings Opposing Players to Watch: Preseason Week 1 vs. Saints

Lil’Jordan Humphrey – WR

Lil’Jordan Humphrey was a guy I was hoping the Vikings would either draft late or sign as an undrafted free agent, and it wasn’t just because he has a fun name.

Even though his name is Lil, this guy has good size and is he listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds. Size in the wide receiver group is still what Minnesota lacks and this guy could’ve added some.

He was also very productive for the Texas Longhorns during his three-year college career so there is plenty of talent there.

Humphrey caught an astounding 86 passes for nearly 1,200 yards with nine touchdowns during his junior year at Texas. He left school early and had a very poor draft season.

He ran a turtle-esque, 4.7 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine and that immediately lowered his stock. He followed that up with a better performance at his Pro Day, but instead of doing receiver drills, he worked out with the tight ends and the linemen.

Maybe he was trying to show scouts his versatility, but it definitely backfired. He ended up not getting drafted, but there are worse places to land than New Orleans with Drew Brees as your quarterback.

Humphrey has been doing well so far with the Saints and he is picking up their very difficult playbook. He should see plenty of reps in Friday’s game, especially in the third and fourth quarters. He’ll be facing the bottom of the Vikings’ secondary, so there will be opportunities for him to make plays.

Humphrey needs to have a solid performance to creep up New Orleans’ depth chart, but Minnesota should be watching this guy closely.

Their wide receiving corps after Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen is by nowhere near set. If Humprhey has a good game Friday and a solid remainder of the preseason, but he still falls short of making the Saints’ roster, he’s someone the Vikings could look at signing after all the final cuts are made.