Everybody loves an underdog.
The story of the hero rising from obscurity to conquer insurmountable odds against all expectations. Rocky, Rudy, The Little Giants. The 2024 Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota had no shortage of doubters this year. I don’t know if anyone outside TCO Performance Center reasonably thought this 3-0 start was possible. Breaking in a host of new defenders and a patchwork secondary, starting the season down two of your top three receiving threats, and rolling with a journeyman castoff at QB in Sam Darnold.
This team came into the season with a lot of uncertainty, and it may have been justified to doubt them a month ago. But they’ve answered those questions, playing exceptionally through the first three weeks.
Third-year receiver Jalen Nailor has been one of those answers.
Nailor was an unheralded fifth-round pick out of Michigan State in 2022. He had a productive career in East Lansing and turned a few heads in practice early in his career. However, Nailor started low on the depth chart and then sat most of last year due to injury. So when he emerged as the likely starter alongside Justin Jefferson coming out of training camp, people reasonably wondered whether he could fill the void.
The Vikings placed their bets on Nailor, and they’ve cashed in. Not only has Nailor been healthy, but he’s thrived as the Robin to Jefferson’s Batman. He’s made plays, blocked his ass off, and even stepped up in the clutch when called upon to seal the game against San Francisco on a key third down.
On Thursday, a reporter asked Jefferson about how he and Nailor were the first Vikings receiver duo to score a touchdown in the first three games:
That’s fire, that’s fire. I mean, I feel more proud for Jalen than for me.
Of course, for him, getting to this point, to get a touchdown in these first three games is big for him, especially for his career, where he wanna go in his career. So I mean, that’s kudos to more than just me and Jalen. The whole offense gotta be executing for us to get the touchdowns.
He also said he thinks Nailor is a complete receiver who offers more than speed.
Yeah, I mean, I feel like he’s been that type of receiver.
He always has been hit with injuries to kind of help hold him back and to kind of take him a step backwards. But this year, besides his little ankle, low-level, besides that, he’s been mostly healthy. So as long as he’s healthy out there on that field and being able to be out there with us, the play is gonna speak for itself.
Nailor is starting to gain national attention beyond Vikings fans. Steven O’Rourke of Fantasy Points has one of my favorite metrics in football media: the Average Separation Score (which he ingeniously markets as the A.S.S.). It measures which receivers are the best or worst at generating separation, offering an evaluation of WR skill wholly independent from QB play and target competition.
Players get points whenever they successfully break away from defenders, regardless of whether they get the ball. Nailor has the fourth-best A.S.S. in the league.
Nailor’s Michigan State teammates nicknamed him “Speedy” in college for a reason, and his explosiveness has stood out through three weeks. But he’s also caught the ball well, run sharp routes, and been where Darnold needs him to be. He’s taken a step forward as a true professional at the position in Year 3.
Some of Nailor’s fantastic A.S.S. is a credit to Kevin O’Connell, who’s done a fantastic job scheming up Nailor in several critical situations this year. But it’s also to Nailor’s doing. His burst, paired with exceptional effort as a blocker, has made play-action subterfuge, as seen below, so lethal.
Nailor saw the opportunity in front of him and seized it. He caught the New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, and Houston Texans flat-footed, exceeding any and all expectations. He’s been efficient and made the most of his openings to make a play. If any player embodies the 2024 Minnesota Vikings, it’s Jalen Nailor.
As Jordan Addison prepares to return to the lineup this week against Green Bay, Nailor may not be the fantasy football asset he’s been through three weeks. But he’s proven a valuable commodity in this offense and will continue to earn touches even after Addison returns. He’s got Sam Darnold’s trust, and this coaching staff and the Vikings should continue to give him opportunities to make plays.
This team has found tremendous success through three weeks, largely through the play of unheralded players exceeding expectations. If the Vikings continue on this trajectory to disrupt the NFL’s hierarchy this season, it will be with players like Nailor continuing to open their eyes each week.
