Former Michigan State Star is Enticing NFL Trade Candidate
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Nailor just posted the most productive regular season of his NFL career, catching 28 passes for 414 yards and six touchdowns.
Nailor averaged a solid 14.8 yards per catch and was absurdly efficient with his touches, with 22 of his receptions going for first downs (and that does not include all of his touchdowns).
Clearly, the former Michigan State Spartans star can play, but he may have a difficult time truly emerging behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison in Minnesota.
As a result, Nailor could represent a very viable trade candidate during the NFL offseason.
The 25-year-old has just one year remaining on his deal, and given the massive deal the Vikings just gave Jefferson coupled with the fact that Addison is going to be due for an extension after next year, Nailor seems like the obvious odd man out.
From a statistical perspective, it may be best for Nailor to go elsewhere, as it would give him a better chance of landing a more lucrative contract in free agency next offseason thanks to the probable increase in opportunity (depending on the destination, of course).
The Michigan State product entered the league as a sixth-round draft pick in 2022 and accumulated just 12 grabs over his first couple of seasons, but he has clearly blossomed as Minnesota's No. 3 option in 2024.
There will be plenty of teams looking for wide receiver help during the offseason, and clubs that get shut out in free agency may want to turn to Nailor.
At this point, Nailor probably wouldn't cost too much in a trade. The Vikings like him, but they surely understand that no team is going to surrender anything more than maybe a fifth-round pick to acquire his services.
While Minnesota may want to retain him, it may not be a wise move to keep him aboard from a financial and asset perspective, as it will almost surely lose him in March 2026.
Nailor spent four seasons at East Lansing between 2018 and 2021 and flashed incredible big-play ability throughout his tenure with the Spartans, leading the Big Ten with 19.8 yards per catch in 2022. He boasted a career average of 16.9 yards per grab during his time at Michigan State.
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Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.