Much has been made of the Minnesota Vikings’ only open question at wide receiver: Who will be the third WR after Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison?
The competition began in earnest in Minnesota’s 24-23 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Jalen Nailor seems like the favorite, and he strengthened his claim in this game, starting alongside Addison when Jefferson took the day off.
Nailor began the day strong, notching a catch on the second play of the game. The Raiders played Cover-2, and OC Wes Phillips dialed up a perfect play. Nailor ran a crisp corner route, and C.J. Ham ran to the flat, forcing the corner to choose between the two. Nailor easily won outside leverage on the safety sitting on the hash, and Sam Darnold zipped it to him for a big gain early.
Nailor’s big day continued late on a big third-and-10 conversion:
Nailor lines up as the outside receiver in a 3×1 set. Brandon Powell sits just inside and runs vertically up the near hash. “Speedy” Nailor runs another sharp in route, and Sam Darnold delivers a strike to pick up the first down.
Jalen wouldn’t stop there:
In the play above, Nailor also shows that he has chemistry with J.J. McCarthy, picking up another big chunk of yardage on a similar in/dig route.
If you look at Nailor through the filter of unabated optimism, you can see his potential to be a phenomenal WR3 in the NFL. He was one of the better wide receivers in the Big 10 throughout his career; Michigan State went 9-0 with him in the lineup in 2021. However, he slipped to the Vikings in the sixth round due to his injury history. Unfortunately, injuries have also limited his time with Minnesota. Let’s hope this is the season we get to see what would make Vikings WR coach Keenan McCardell pound the table with joy when the Vikings selected Jalen.
If (and at this point, it’s a big if) Jalen can stay healthy and play like he did against the Raiders, it might not be long before people view the Vikings as having one of the best wide receiver trios in the league. Does anyone remember when Randy Moss, Cris Carter, and Jake Reed wore purple?
Jalen wasn’t the only Vikings wide receiver who had a great day. Trishton Jackson also played well. Not only did Jackson do the glamorous work that all WRs love, catching this 45-yard dime from McCarthy to find paydirt:
But I believe his dirty work will endear him most to Minnesota’s coaching staff. He was an absolutely exceptional blocker against the Raiders.
Here, he took Jack Jones, the Raiders’ CB, and kept him occupied throughout the play, allowing Ty Chandler to pick up a nice gain on an inside zone.
Jackson victimizes Jones again late, once more driving his man downfield and helping to spring a big play in the ground game:
These plays aren’t as sexy to fans and don’t count for any fantasy points. However, this is wide receiver nirvana to coaches. If Jackson can continue to block like this, it will likely be difficult for the Vikings to keep him off the roster. I could envision a situation where Minnesota could use Jackson to spell the slight Jordan Addison, who occasionally struggles in the blocking game.
Things to watch against the Browns
It will be fascinating to see whether Minnesota’s defense can hold up against the Cleveland Browns and their running attack. The Vikings gave up chunks of yardage against the Raiders. What will Brian Flores dial up to try to stop the bleeding, and can any of Minnesota’s interior DL auditioning for playing time step up and make a difference?
Who will play CB for the Vikings, and how will they fare? Many of Minnesota’s corners are new to the team and its defensive system. Will we see more of these new guys now that they’ve had an additional week to learn the offense?
Who will get the QB2 reps? Who will Kevin O’Connell turn to now that McCarthy is out for the season? Will they continue the Jaren Hall experiment and see if he can show a spark, or will veteran Nick Mullens get a chance to shake the rust off?
