Vikings Head Coach Uplifts a Pair of Depth Receivers, Praises Growth and Potential
The Vikings head coach tends to be a positive guy, but it’s still notable when he discusses a couple of specific players.
Kevin O’Connell took some time to chat with the Minnesota media last Friday. During the press conference, O’Connell was prompted to reflect on the returning players who were allowed to get onto the practice field. While doing so, he highlighted receivers Thayer Thomas and Malik Knowles as guys he holds in high regard.
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Both players arrived within Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s UDFA group in 2023.
Obviously, Ivan Pace Jr. is the UDFA who gets most of the attention. After slipping out of the draft, the linebacker earned a spot in the starting lineup and played wonderfully while there. So, there’s reasonable optimism about Mr. Pace. In fact, O’Connell said in the same presser that he showed the players at rookie minicamp some of Pace’s reps from last season’s minicamp before then cutting to his game-sealing interception against the Raiders.
As the conversation comes around to the returners, O’Connell is happy to uplift Thayer Thomas and Malik Knowles.
“Looking at Thayer,” O’Connell notes, “I was joking with him out there, cause really one year to the day of the first time we got on the grass with him. Just the growth, and the development, and the mindset that he has now. And really being a calming presence out there.”
Meanwhile, Knowles is inspiring optimism, as well. “Malik Knowles is a guy we’re really excited about,” O’Connell explains. The benefit with having him is that the depth receiver is getting “15, 20, 25 extra reps before we get out there with the main group.” Keep in mind that Knowles missed all of last season due to injury, so O’Connell is excited to “[steal] time on task” for Knowles.
Thomas and Knowles pair well in conversation since they’re both receivers coming from the same batch of UDFA players. Add in the fact that neither got the chance to step onto the field but both were kept around and it’s easy to understand why O’Connell spoke about them in the same answer.
Keep in mind, though, that they’re built differently and will probably be looking to succeed in different ways.
Thomas is 6’0″, 195, suggesting he’s more of an option for the slot. Knowles stands at 6’2″ and weighs 196 pounds, a frame that suggests he could be better suited for playing along the outside. For whatever it’s worth, Knowles’ final season in college involved 331 snaps out wide versus 24 in the slot. Meanwhile, Thomas picked up 371 slot snaps versus just 14 out wide. Does that carryover into the NFL?
At the top of Minnesota’s receiver room are Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Neither will be moving out of their roles as the WR1 and WR2. Both will be getting plenty of attention from whoever is tossing the pigskin.
After the top pair, though, there is some mystery. Brandon Powell looks like the strong favorite to take over the vacated WR3 job. K.J. Osborn is now a Patriot, meaning there’s an opening when there are three or more receivers on the field. Powell’s shiftiness and versatility make him a strong contender for the job.
After Powell, it’s a wide open race to fill the other openings. Trishton Jackson has an outside chance of making the final roster; N’Keal Harry makes some sense if there’s a desire for added size & muscle. And then there’s a cluster of other options such as Jalen Nailor, Trent Sherfield, and several others.
Within that somewhat chaotic competition are Thayer Thomas and Malik Knowles. Each one will need to show that they’re capable of making occasional plays on offense while being monsters on special teams. The one who can do that stands a chance of getting onto the final roster.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and PFF helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.