5 bold predictions for the Vikings at the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine
By Chris Schad
The receiver class will validate its pre-combine hype
If there is one position group that is dominating the hype coming into this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, it’s the class of wide receivers.
For a group that has the potential to be better than the receivers selected in the 2014 NFL Draft which featured Pro Bowlers Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Allen Robinson, Davante Adams, and more, the Combine will be a beautiful time to back it up.
The odds of this happening are very high. While the top-end talent such as Jerry Jeudy and Cee Dee Lamb are locked in at being selected out of the Vikings’ reach, there are other talents such as Jalen Reagor, Justin Jefferson and Michael Pittman Jr. who could be on Minnesota’s radar with a big performance this week.
These workouts are going to be interesting for the Vikings in a pair of scenarios. While Minnesota is a run-first team, they don’t have much receiving depth behind Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen. Case in point, when Thielen got hurt last season, the Vikings offense lost part of their explosiveness and turned in uneven performances even when he was able to return late in the year.
Picking up a receiver in the early to mid rounds seems like a good idea for Minnesota as an upgrade over Olabisi Johnson and perhaps to eliminate the need to roll with only four receivers as they did for the majority of 2019.
As for the other reason, well, we’ll get to that in a little bit.