Minnesota Vikings: Way-too-early 53-man roster projection
By Adam Carlson
Wide receivers (6)
- Chad Beebe
- Dan Chisena
- Justin Jefferson
- Bisi Johnson
- Ihmir Smith-Marsette
- Adam Thielen
At first glance, this is a pretty rough group of wide receivers. Of course, the highlights of this unit are last season’s rookie record-breaking pass-catcher Justin Jefferson and the hardest working man in the business, Adam Thielen. That duo should return strong, but there are plenty of question marks past them.
There is still some time for the Vikings to pick up a more established receiving threat in free agency before the season arrives. If that’s not the case, expect Minnesota to look to their tight ends quite a bit on offense and use their backup receivers sparingly.
Bisi Johnson will likely get the first nod since he was actually the starter last season until Jefferson entered the lineup and kept that role. Johnson isn’t a bad player, but 14 catches for 189 yards last season isn’t going to do a lot to get him playing time this year.
Special teams will be a big reason some of these players make the roster. Dan Chisena is a quality NFL gunner, Ihmir Smith-Marsette will likely handle some return duties, and Chad Beebe will be a Swiss army knife.