Jalen Nailor Trade Rumors Are Among Us
Whilst there has been reckless speculation amongst the Vikings fandom about the availability for other teams to come calling about WR Jordan Addison because of his consecutive offseasons of off-field issues, there are now new rumors surrounding another WR in the room, Jalen Nailor.
The drafting of Maryland WR Tai Felton in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft has potentially made Jalen Nailor available for trade discussions between the Vikings and teams all around the NFL. Upon first reaction, I would assume that Minnesota would roll into their 2025 training camp with a WR3 competition between Felton, Nailor, and free-agency acquisition Rondale Moore.
In 2024, Jalen Nailor had a mini-breakout season that saw him haul in 28 receptions for 414 yards and 6 TDs. This was a year in which he was finally able to stay healthy during OTAs and have a full-on shot at winning the WR3 role behind Justin Jefferson and the aforementioned Jordan Addison.
Nothing he did was super-duper exceptional, as whoever the Vikings WR3 is, is set up perfectly for success with Kevin O’Connell calling plays from the sideline and Jefferson and Addison taking a lot of attention downfield, as well as T.J. Hockenson drawing attention in the short-middle of the field.
Jalen Nailor’s best performance in 2024 without a doubt came in Week 17 against the Green Bay Packers, a game in which the Vikings completed a season-sweep of the cheeseheads. This exhibition saw Jalen Nailor catch all 5 of his targets for 81 yards and 1 TD with a long reception of 31 yards. Those 81 yards accounted for just under 20% of his total season-long production.
Nailor only eclipsed 50 yards receiving three other times in 2024, in Week 2 against the 49ers (54 yards), Week 7 against the Lions (76 yards), and Week 18 again against the Lions (53 yards). He also had eight games of 11 yards or less.
These rumors have been discussed by Athlon Sports and Sports Illustrated. The leverage that the Vikings have gained in extension talks with Jalen Nailor, who is now in a contract year, because of the drafting of Tai Felton and signing of Rondale Moore, was also discussed by PurplePTSD’s Kyle Joudry.
Nailor’s contract extension wasn’t going to be that lucrative to begin with, but especially now because the Vikings are seemingly-deep at a position that wasn’t when Nailor was the WR3 job, Minnesota has now gained all of that leverage to bring that number down if they really do wish to retain the young receiver.
Nailor is every bit as expendable as K.J. Osborn was in the 2024 offseason, and Minnesota was right to let Osborn walk, seeing as the Patriots punted on him after he played only seven games with the team and caught seven total passes.
A trade for Nailor probably wouldn’t return the Vikings any draft capital to write home about, but some future late-round picks for a player you’d probably just let walk out the door after the season anyway should always be the preferred method to perform for pending free agents that are expendable.
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