Vikings Should Rethink One Guy’s Offseason Plan
On Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings snatched a win in Dallas that, though meaningless for the playoff race, has revealed a lot of things about a lot of people. One of them is quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who has caught fire when throwing to receiver Jalen Nailor.
Jalen Nailor Should Be an Offseason Priority
Nailor has undoubtedly been McCarthy’s favorite target. Think back a few weeks, when McCarthy returned from his ankle injury. The game took place in Detroit, where the Vikings hadn’t won in ages. To clinch the game, head coach Kevin O’Connell dialed up a passing play to one guy: Jalen Nailor.
He trusted Nailor to come down with it and McCarthy trusted Nailor to make the play. It wasn’t an easy catch and it wasn’t like Nailor had earned that trust that day, as he had zero grabs the entire day.
Yet, in the biggest moment of the game and probably of the season at that point, the two made it happen and iced the game.
While McCarthy has struggled to connect with Justin Jefferson and the targets have been inconsistent for T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison over the course of the season, the pairing with Nailor feels more natural.
Nailor had a monster five-catch 124-yard day against the Baltimore Ravens. He also had a decent 30 yards last week and received 31 yards and 28 yards in the first two contests of the season. His numbers with Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer haven’t been nearly as good. In his fourth NFL season, Nailor has generated 26 catches for 395 yards and four touchdowns.
While most receiving lines have been disappointing, Nailor has been solid and looks to replicate last year’s output despite the overall downgrade in receiving production.
The 2022 sixth-rounder is in the final season of his rookie deal. With Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison being the obvious WR1 and WR2, there was no reason to pay another guy in next year’s free agency. Surely, Nailor would depart, and that’s why Tai Felton was drafted last April.
Well, suddenly one wonders whether the Vikings can afford to lose McCarthy’s favorite target.
In the summer, Kevin O’Connell said about the man he and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah acquired in their first draft in charge, “We’ll see how these first few weeks look, what type of personnel we’re gonna have for those games when we get all the information on our group back. Speedy could be a huge, huge contributor early and often, all season long, and that’s my expectation. He’s primed and ready to play a huge role in our offense.”
As a pending free agent, Nailor can choose whether he’d like to stay and sign an extension or test the market and find out if the grass is greener elsewhere. A player with his speed might generate some interest. There’s no shortage of WR-needy teams out there.
If there’s a chance of retaining him and he’s not breaking the bank, extending Nailor’s deal should be a priority, as it seems to be in McCarthy’s best interest, and he’s still the critical development case on the team.
Nailor will turn 27 ahead of free agency.