4 wide receivers the Vikings could sign if they move on from Adam Thielen
If the Minnesota Vikings choose to make Adam Thielen a salary cap casualty this offseason they'll need to find a way to replace him. His departure would mean Justin Jefferson and KJ Osborn are the top two receivers on the 2023 roster.
With no additions, the No. 3 and No. 4 receiver jobs would belong to Jalen Nailor and Jalen Reagor. Others on the 2022 roster – Blake Proehl, Bisi Johnson, Trishton Jackson and Thomas Hennigan – are all free to sign wherever they please.
As Purple Insider's Matthew Coller points out, the lack of a deep threat opposite of Jefferson allowed opposing defenses to put the clamps on the MVP candidate. That was evident in late-season games against the Jets, Packers and in the playoffs against the Giants. So the focus of this article will be finding speed that can eliminate, or at least make an opposing defense think twice before putting all of its attention on Jefferson.
Nailor could very well be that type of player. He flashed blazing speed in limited chances and finished the season with nine catches for 179 yards. He averaged 19.9 yards per catch and his season long was a 47-yarder against the Packers. There's no question he can take the lid off the defense, but is he good enough to be a No. 3 receiver on a pass-happy team?
If Nailor isn't the guy, who could be? Minnesota has limited draft capital so looking to free agency might be their best bet. Here are some deep threats who will be on the free-agent market this offseason.
Noah Brown
Brown is 27 years old and had a solid 2022 with the Dallas Cowboys. He caught 43 balls for 555 yards and three touchdowns. Most importantly, he's blazing fast and can get down the field. He had a 51-yard catch against the Texans, a 45-yarder versus the Commanders and one of his two catches against the Vikings went for 35 yards.
JuJu Smith-Schuster
Minnesota probably can't afford a player of Smith-Schuster's caliber, but if they were to find the money he'd be an amazing fit and would likely be the No. 2 WR on the team. He's only 26 years old and with Patrick Mahomes throwing him the ball he caught 78 passes for 933 yards and three touchdowns this season.
Spotrac estimates his market value in 2023 to be more than $14 million annually. It's cheaper than Thielen, who carries a $19.9 million cap hit next season. Cheaper, younger, faster. It makes a lot of sense if Minnesota can make the money work.
Mecole Hardman
There aren't many receivers with as much game-breaking speed as Hardman. He played in just eight games this season and caught 25 passes for 297 yards and four touchdowns. His market value, per Spotrac, is about $11 million annually.
He also brings the gadget play threat as Kansas City has used him as a runner 20 times for 125 yard and two touchdowns, both of which were this season.
D.J. Chark
Pro Football Focus called him one of the game's best deep threats in 2020. He was in his third season at the time and three years later he's still only 26 years old and has produced everywhere he's been. This season with the Lions he finished with 30 catches for 502 yards and three touchdowns, after missing several games through injury.
He had three receptions of 40+ yards, including one against the Vikings in a game that he finished with six receptions, 94 yards and a touchdown.
Spotrac puts his market value at about $9 million in 2023.
Chark surpassed 700 yards in 13 games in 2020 and went for over 1,000 yards on a career-high 73 catches in 2019 with Jacksonville. He missed most of the 2021 season with an injury.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.