A Late Vikings Signing Deserves an A+
The Vikings signings have been quite modest, all things considered. Some of that was due to the cap crunch, but Minnesota had enough money to spend more aggressively before opting for a more restrained approach.
Undoubtedly, at the top of the list of signings for the Vikings was Kyler Murray. He’s expected to win the QB1 job, but that remains to be seen. Landing him for just $1.3 million — less than the cost to get punter Johnny Hekker — was highway robbery. Still, the Jauan Jennings deal is that one that stands out as the best. He is, after all, a perfect fit for where this Vikings team finds itself.
Vikings Signing Deserves Full Marks
In Jennings, the Vikings have acquired somebody who allows the team to stay true to its desired personnel.
Per Sumer Sports, the Vikings rolled with 11 personnel 63.84% of the time. Doing so at roughly 64% means finishing off at 10th in the NFL. Signing Kevin O’Connell away from the Rams in 2022 always involved an understanding that opting for that approach was going to take place, but the strategy is contingent on boasting the needed personnel.
Adding Jennings allows the Vikings to maintain that aerial approach. Crucially, the passing attack gets the benefit of a very good receiver who is also a very good blocker, creating pre-snap second guessing.
Rolling out Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Jauan Jennings, T.J. Hockenson, and Aaron Jones is a wild array of pass catching talent. All that’s going to be needed is “good” from the offensive line and quarterback since those five lads are so impressive.
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Now, the beauty of Jennings is that he’s also a menace as a blocker. Quite possibly, Jauan Jennings is sitting in the WR2 spot per workload by the end of the season due to his ability to block.
Standing at 6’3″ and weighing close to 215 pounds, Jennings is a bruiser. Working in his favor is that he’s not afraid to use that frame. Quite the opposite is true, in fact. The receiver appears to relish bulldozing defensive backs while so many receivers shy away from playing bully ball.
Even better is that Mr. Jennings is a scorer. He snagged 9 touchdowns last year, a very healthy total given that he only had 55 catches. Minnesota does need to improve in the red zone, so ideally Jennings can be part of the solution for them.
The inside word is that Jauan Jennings can make up to $13 million on his one-year deal with the Vikings. However, sitting underneath that number is a base amount that’s coming in at $8 million.
How those numbers interact with the salary cap remains to be seen, but note that contract compensation often differs from cap charges. Don’t be surprised if some of his cap charge has been kicked into 2027.
If Jennings lives up to his potential as a rugged receiver who blocks like a madman while scoring plenty of touchdowns, then the Vikings onboarded a fantastic player. He’s someone who can outshine his deal given his potential to allow the team more broadly to shine, meaning the Vikings deserve full marks for the move.
