As the Minnesota Vikings continue to figure out how to improve their wide receiver group before the start of the 2025 regular season, the perfect solution might have fallen right into their lap.
On Monday, the Atlanta Falcons announced the release of veteran receiver DJ Chark. Last season, Chark caught a total of four passes for 31 yards and one touchdown in seven appearances as a member of the Los Angeles Chargers.
He's been in the NFL since 2018, but he's still only 28-years-old, so he should still have plenty of juice left in his tank. Plus, Chark already has a connection to multiple members the Vikings.
Past connections could lead free-agent WR DJ Chark to Minneosta Vikings
Chark began his career in the league after the Jacksonville Jaguars selected him with a second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Leading up to the draft that year, the 6-foot-3, 198-pound pass-catcher was clocked in the 40-yard dash at 4.34 seconds, so the dude can fly.
In 2019, Chark was voted to the Pro Bowl after putting together the best single season of his career, catching 73 passes for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns.
His wide receivers coach in Jacksonville that year? That would be current Vikings receivers coach Keenan McCardell. If McCardell was able to help Chark reach his potential in 2019, perhaps he could do the same for the veteran wide receiver if he were to sign with Minnesota this year.
In addition to the connection Chark has with the current Vikings receivers coach, he is also a former college teammate of Minnesota star pass-catcher Justin Jefferson. Both attended LSU in 2017 when Chark was a senior and Jefferson was a freshman.
So there's definitely some familiarity there for the Vikings and the free-agent wide receiver that would make the adjustment period easier.
Minnesota's need for a receiver has increased during the last few days following the season-ending injury to Rondale Moore, Jordan Addison receiving a three-game suspension from the NFL, and Jalen Nailor injuring his hand in a recent practice.
There aren't exactly a ton of options to help the Vikings significantly improve the depth of their wide receiver group at this time of the year. But going out and making a move like adding Chark is something that is the type of low-risk, high-reward signing the Minnesota has made in the past under general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
Is it something that's going to automatically solve the Vikings' current receiver problem? No, but signing Chark is a decision that Adofo-Mensah and the rest of Minnesota's front office should at least consider.