Vikings' Wes Phillips Praises Second-Year WR: 'Really Pleased With Where He's At'

Jalen Nailor has an opportunity to emerge as the Vikings' No. 4 receiver in his second season.

If there was one breakout performer during the Vikings' three OTA practices open to reporters, it was second-year wide receiver Jalen Nailor. Getting an opportunity to handle a ton of first-team reps due to Adam Thielen's departure, Justin Jefferson's absence, and Jordan Addison's injury, Nailor was all over the field making plays and showing a rapport with Kirk Cousins.

The opportunity exists for Nailor to be the Vikings' No. 4 receiver this season. The 2022 sixth-round pick out of Michigan State, whose nickname is "Speedy," showed some flashes late in his rookie season and brings a field-stretching ability that could provide a different element to Kevin O'Connell's offense.

Nailor had fairly unremarkable college production due to some struggles to stay healthy, peaking with a 37-695-6 line in his fourth year at MSU. He was a big-play guy for the Spartans, averaging 19.2 yards per catch in his final two seasons. That included a game against Rutgers in which he caught three touchdown passes from at least 63 yards out.

After landing with the Vikings in the sixth round, Nailor went to work with wide receivers coach Keenan McCardell on developing his all-around game. He started to show out in practice, in addition to contributing on special teams (Nailor's first career reception came on a fake punt pass from fellow rookie Ryan Wright in Week 4). Then, late in a blowout loss against the Packers in Week 17, Nailor caught three passes for 89 yards and his first career touchdown on just nine offensive snaps.

Congratulations to Jalen Nailor on his first NFL touchdown today. #jalennailor #SpartanDawgs #michiganstatefootball pic.twitter.com/hNCT6OtMQf

— Spartan18770 (@spartan18770) January 2, 2023

The following week, in a meaningless regular season finale against the Bears, Nailor saw a career-high 33 snaps and caught four passes from Nick Mullens for 62 yards. It's obviously a tiny sample size of garbage time football, but Nailor finished his rookie season with a 91.6 PFF grade and 5.77 yards per route run.

"Jalen's a really good player," offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said this week. "Every opportunity that he gets to show out, he shows up. We put together a lot of install tapes to teach the concepts as we go, and a lot of the things, whether it's the opportunities against Chicago or Green Bay that he got to play or whether it's practice clips from last year, he just shows up a lot as far as doing the right thing, being where he's supposed to be, and then having the athletic ability to make the play. Really pleased with where he's at."

This year, Nailor figures to be competing with players like Brandon Powell, Jalen Reagor, and Trishton Jackson for the No. 4 receiver job behind Jefferson, K.J. Osborn, and Addison. In that role, he could see the field in four-wide sets or packages designed to use his downfield speed. Nailor ran just a 4.5 last year, but he had an elite ten-yard split and has reportedly been clocked much faster than that in the past. His nickname isn't Speedy for no reason.

If Nailor can earn that job in training camp, he would also be in line for a much bigger role if any of the three receivers above him had to miss any time. That may be a particular concern with Addison, who is undersized and missed a couple games at USC last year due to an ankle injury.

If his performance in OTAs is any indication, Nailor is someone to keep a close eye on when camp rolls around later this summer.

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