5 best Vikings deep-ball receivers of the last decade
By Dustin Baker
No. 5 – Jerome Simpson, Wide Receiver (2012-2013)
- 40+ Yard Completions in 2019: Three
- Percentage to Total Pass Targets: 1.97
Jerome Simpson made the Minnesota Vikings the last meaningful stop of his career. He wasn’t exactly a substantial contributor for the team as he only scored one touchdown in 28 games.
His inclusion in this list of deep-ball pass-catchers can be perceived as more of an indictment of the team’s wide receivers in the first five seasons of the 2010s. The first half of the decade was woeful for the Vikings at the wide receiver position, and the quarterback position was not much better, if at all.
Simpson’s three catches of 40+ yards were delivered by Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel. None resulted in touchdowns. Although Simpson only scored once while on the Vikings, he did accrue exactly 1,000 receiving yards during his two years with Minnesota. To illuminate just how abysmal the team’s passing offense was in those two years: Jerome Simpson was the team’s leading pass-catcher in those years at that 1,000-yard mark. Yikes.