Grading every Minnesota Vikings position group from the 2020 season
By Adam Carlson
Wide Receivers
Losing Stefon Diggs and having to rely on Adam Thielen, a rookie, and a group of supporting receivers seemed like a steep task for the Vikings in 2020. Diggs moved on to play for the Buffalo Bills this season, where he led the NFL in receiving yards. But somehow, Minnesota’s receivers also fared very well in 2020.
The Vikings replaced the man who caught the “Minneapolis Miracle” with Justin Jefferson this past season. The youngster out of LSU exceeded all expectations by breaking the league’s all-time record for receiving yards by a rookie with 1,400.
While Jefferson was racking up yardage, Thielen was catching touchdowns. The Vikings veteran receiver only had 925 yards this year, but he hauled in 14 touchdowns, good for the third-most scoring grabs in 2020.
Past Thielen and Jefferson, the receiving depth is highly questionable for Minnesota heading into the 2021 offseason.
Chad Beebe had the next most yards among Vikings receivers in 2020 with 201 followed by Bisi Johnson with 189. While their contributions were nice, if Minnesota can improve their stable of receivers during the upcoming offseason, the team’s offense could be even more explosive in 2021.
2020 Grade: A-