Young Viking Could Get His Shot Way Earlier Than Expected
The Minnesota Vikings’ receiving corps is a disaster, put quite frankly. Jordan Addison’s suspension had long been expected, even before the league made the call in July, but Jalen Nailor’s recent hand injury further amplified the desire for a new wide receiver to arrive. However, finding teams that are willing to part ways with reliable weapons isn’t easy, especially for a reasonable price.
Young Viking Could Get His Shot Way Earlier Than Expected
The Adam Thielen sweetstakes have stalled a little, and explosive players are hard to come by. At some point, it might be fair to wonder whether the Vikings could try to make things work with what they have.
What they have is Justin Jefferson, perhaps the best receiver in the business (at the very worst, he’s second). Then, there’s Nailor, whose injury details only the Vikings know. Rookie Myles Price is a returner and didn’t show too much on offense in the preseason. Tim Jones caught a handful of passes a season in Jacksonville, but he’s also more of a special teamer.
That leaves rookie Tai Felton. The third-rounder is another guy who was brought in to contribute to special teams and potentially develop into an offensive weapon over time. A raw receiver, Felton might be asked to step up in September, considering the other options, in the three games without Addison.
Felton spent four years at Maryland. In 46 games, he caught 172 passes for 2,207 yards and 17 touchdowns. About half of that production took place in the 2024 campaign, in which he collected 96 receptions for 1,124 yards and nine scores. He added 39 rushing yards over his career and had a total of eight kick and punt returns.
Coming out of college, Felton displayed a nice athletic scorecard with a 4.37 40-yard dash with good 10-yard and 20-yard splits, and explosive jump measurements.
Yet, his fundamentals need some refinement, which is precisely why a more minor role on offense was expected in his rookie season.
NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote about Felton in his pre-draft profile: “Tall, slender wideout whose impressive 2024 production appears to be more a function of target volume than projectable talent. Felton is a linear route runner who will struggle with tight press and physical man coverage inside the route. He can build speed inside long strides and has proven he can make tacklers miss, creating chunk plays on possession throws. He lacks functional strength and rarely owns the catch space when contested. Felton has backup potential, but he could compete for a role as a gunner early on.”
That gunner role is a given after a strong preseason performance on special teams. On offense, Felton caught four passes for 46 yards in his two games. He missed the final preseason game with a minor injury.
In those two games, Felton didn’t look like a day-one superstar, but he showed that he can catch what’s thrown his way and doesn’t need to sit for a year just because scouting reports said so.
Based on the opportunity the Vikings’ roster could give him, his role in Week 1 could be bigger than expected. At the very least, Kevin O’Connell could scheme some gadget plays his way. His ability to gain yardage after the catch has always been on the list of his strengths.
Of course, all of this is moot if the Vikings acquire a couple of veteran receivers, but for now, Felton can’t be counted out to contribute way earlier than predicted.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.