How will the Minnesota Vikings’ wide receiver depth chart pan out in 2020?
For years, the Minnesota Vikings boasted one of the best one-two tandems at wide receiver in the NFL.
This, thanks to the dual-threat prowess of standout pass catchers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen, who both pushed and complemented each other in head coach Mike Zimmer’s passing game.
Diggs is now gone, of course, traded off to the Buffalo Bills during the offseason, while Thielen will look to bounce back from a 2019 campaign in which he was slowed by a serious hamstring injury.
There’s little questioning Thielen is now the Alpha-1 of this newly revamped group, which brought in two notable rookies among the 13 other selections the Minnesota Vikings made during the 2020 NFL Draft, LSU’s Justin Jefferson and Miami’s K.J. Osborn.
Jefferson, the first-round pick, figures to be afforded every opportunity to pick up where Diggs left off. Yet he’s still a rookie, and first-year players often take time to develop.
As such, Minnesota’s wide receiver room currently looks like this:
- Bralon Addison
- Chad Beebe
- Dan Chisena
- Davion Davis
- Quartney Davis
- Alexander Hollins
- Justin Jefferson
- Bisi Johnson
- Dillon Mitchell
- K.J. Osborn
- Tajaé Sharpe
- Adam Thielen
A lot of names, yet only so much room.
Teams typically carry no more than six wide receivers on a 53-man roster. Thielen and Jefferson are all but guaranteed spots, while Sharpe comes over after four so-so years with the Tennessee Titans.
Johnson and Beebe are incumbents who provided little more than supportive depth behind Thielen and Diggs a year ago.
While there are quite a number of players to watch, offseason activities and training camp should spark a pretty good number of battles to watch at wide receiver.
But before we get into the predicted Minnesota Vikings depth chart, let’s look at some key storylines to monitor.