4 Minnesota Vikings who are in jeopardy of becoming busts

K.J. Osborn – PR/KR

It may be unfair to put a rookie on a list of potential busts, but there has been nothing about this kid so far that has shown why Rick Spielman took him with a fifth-round pick. The Vikings made him their kick and punt returner for the sole reason he was taken so high.  He’s rewarded them by having the Vikings’ return game be the worst in the NFL.

K.J. Osborn just doesn’t have the burst or wiggle to be a quality NFL returner. He hasn’t shown the ability to make the first man miss and then make a cut and find the opening and then turn on the jets. He also has struggled to cleanly field punts and has had one bounce off his shoulder pads and also fumbled a return that was luckily recovered.

Osborn has just 27 punt return yards on the season and 303 kick return yards. The Vikings have shown their lack of trust or even faith in his ability, as there have been games where they’ve made him inactive and tried options like Ameer Abdullah and Chad Beebe instead. When you take a return man with a fifth-round choice you better be damn sure this guy is dynamic and explosive. Osborn isn’t that.

The good news for Osborn is that he still has time to turn it around, but even if he does, he’ll be in a battle in Vikings’ camp in 2021 to be the return man. If he loses that battle, there’s no guarantee he’ll even make the final roster. If that happens, he’ll be the front runner for the biggest bust of the Vikings’ 2020 NFL Draft class.