Breakdown and Targets: The Pass Catchers
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It’s not hard to go and find the articles and write ups on how Case Keenum had one of, if not arguably the best, supporting casts around him. Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen are giving the Vikings a LOT to be excited about moving forward. They are the first over 900 yard duo the Vikings have had since 2000 when Randy Moss and Cris Carter were still around. Thielen’s thousand yard season this year was the first since Sidney Rice did it with Brett Favre in 2009. The Vikings have dearly, dearly missed this kind of play and excitement could not be higher for these two. Add in the long standing pillar of Kyle Rudolph in the redzone and third down and we have a dynamic force at each level of the field on each play. With that being said there’s plenty of shoring up to be done in this group of pass catchers as once you look past those three our depth chart starts to get a little hairy.
On The Roster
Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Stefon Diggs/Adam Thielen –
I’m not going to say much here, these two have reignited hope in a very long, stagnant and often times pathetic passing attacks many of us have sadly grown accustomed to watching on Sundays. As long as they stay healthy and we figure out the quarterback situation they will both be top ten receivers next year.
2018 Projection: Wide Receivers One and Two.
Laquon Treadwell –
Ohh Laquon, you are an enigma. Part of me wants to say that he’s been a victim of circumstance and the break out of Adam Thielen pushed him down and he hasn’t been able to fit in to the starting rotation. It’s hard to continue to argue this though as Diggs nagging injuries keep flaring up and when Treadwell steps in it’s hard to notice much more than a dud on the field out there. It’s becoming extremely frustrating because every now and then he flashes that big play ability that we drafted him for (See absolute incredible catch against the Packers early last season). Furthermore it’s apparent that the coaches are trusting him less and less as well. Over the first seven games, Treadwell played more than 50% of the offense snaps in five of those games. Over the last nine week he played more than 40% only twice. Jairus Wright and Michael Floyd started seeing the field more and more and Treadwell less and less which can only be taken as an indictment by our offensive staff. Hope is still there but it’s fading fast.
2018 Projection: Wide Receiver Four
Jarius Wright –
Jarius has always been a fan favorite around these parts and has very much earned his nickname of “Mr. Third Down”. He never makes the flashy plays or puts up the gaudy stats but Jarius is just about as reliable as they come. Only 18 catches for a hair under 200 yards but what will always stand out for Jarius is the fact that 13 of those 18 catches went for a first down. Outside of that clutch gene though we have probably seen just about all Jarius will offer as a player as he starts to get to that often feared age of 30. Jarius has always been around and it definitely seems like as long as he wants to stick around the Vikings will find a place for him.
2018 Projection: Slot Receiver
Michael Floyd –
Floyd came over as a veteran presence with almost no risk and a very high ceiling. Coming off his DUI charges and disowning from the Cardinals as well as a short stint with the Patriots I personally had little faith he’d stick anywhere and be out of the league soon. It’s safe to assume that his college friend and roommate Kyle Rudolph gave a great recommendation and place for him to live and he came up to his home state of Minnesota. With a brief issue that never seemed to turn into much late in the offseason we stuck out his suspension and he saw some limited playing time this year. 10 catches and 78 yards and by all accounts a cleaned up personal life I’m actually a little excited for Floyd this next year. People are quick to forget that Floyd was viewed as an up and coming receiving threat where from 2013 to 2015 he had three years in a row with 800+ yards and 5 touchdowns each. As long as he keeps his personal life out of the public eye and he keeps earning the trust of the Vikings coaching staff it’s not unreasonable to see him starting on the outside opposite of Thielen and we can slide Diggs into the slot where he can do even more damage with mismatches.
2018 Projection: Wide Receiver Five
Stacy Coley –
Coley came to the team last year as rookie taken in the seventh round. The fact that he made the team at all when an immense amounts of seventh rounders don’t says something in itself. Coley was viewed as a very talented player coming out of college but his work ethic and love of the game was highly scrutinized. I can’t imagine this being a problem still if the Vikings kept him around over Rodney Adams who recently left for the Colts. Coley has great speed, some return ability and reliable hands that lead him to being one of our preseason stars going for 10 catches and 160 yards last year. If Coley wants to retain his spot on the roster he’ll probably be battling Cayleb Jones and late or undrafted rookie wide out.
2018 Projection: Practice Squad
Cayleb Jones and Brandon Zylstra are camp bodies/cuts
(Photo Courtesy: Andy Kenutis)
Kyle Rudolph –
Rudolph enjoyed a solid season with the Vikings this last year going for 532 yards and eight touchdowns on 57 receptions earning him his second Pro Bowl selection albeit as a replacement. Rudolph has been our redzone go-to since he joined us in 2011. He’s always been a solid receiver, with great size and hands but he’s never been without his shortcomings such as the fact that he’s never been in his career any better than an average blocker. Compound that with the fact that he’s slow and is irritatingly cut down by the first tackler every single time. Rudolph will be turning 29 this November and much like with Jarius Wright we are seeing about as good as it’s going to get. Now don’t take that the wrong way, Rudolph is a good tight end, but it’s time to start looking for a complete tight end blocking, receiving and athletically and this draft is stacked. Rudolph has lost a step already and with his size probably isn’t going to get it back and with only Morgan behind him right now, tight end is sneaking into a pretty big position of need.
2018 Projection: Tight End One
David Morgan II –
Morgan put in a very good year this last year although it may have been hard to tell. How good? By Pro Football Focus’s ratings he was the seventh best tight end in the league. Morgan proved he was not only able to make the catches (10 for 95 yards and a touchdown) but that he was as elite of a run blocker as the scouts thought he was as he ranked as the third best run blocking tight end. Morgan while not as athletic as people would like for a tight end has proven that he can be that dual threat, swiss army knife tight end and I’m very excited for what he can become.
2018 Projection: Tight End Two
Blake Bell and Nick Truesdell likely cut.
2018 Draft Targets
Wide Receivers – Because I feel we are in a very good place receiver wise on our roster and if anything we will snag someone in the 4th round or later, I’ll be diving into some guys I think could be major steals on days two and three.
Cedrick Wilson – Boise State
Currently Projected 4th-6th
6’2, 195 lbs
Cedrick Wilson is a very interesting figure coming into this draft as he was initially recruited as a dual threat quarterback out of high school and also went the junior college route to get into division one. Wilson turned in a very good senior bowl week with scouts praising him as “one of the most improved players”, this following his incredible senior year of 83 catches, 1511 yards and seven touchdowns. Wilson shows incredible ability at tracking the deep ball and making the catch with bodies hanging all around him. You’ll want to keep your eye on Wilson moving forward, if he can show a much better release off the line and better jumping/high pointing ability he may start moving up the boards. As of now Wilson has a great top gear and could be a legit deep threat or with his catch in traffic ability a solid slot receiver.
Byron Pringle – Kansas State
Currently Projected 4th-6th
6’2, 205 lbs
Byron Pringle much like Cedrick Wilson took the junior college route but with it comes his first ding on Pringle is already 24 years old. Pringle is a very polarizing option as it’s a bit unknown what he can do. Working out of a run first offense at K-State, Pringles routes consisted of screen, deep, deeper and deepest. Pringle has absolute homerun speed and will take the top off the defense but what else can he do? Sure someone who runs fast in a straight line is likely to get drafted but as the Vikings have seen with Cordarrelle Patterson that yes they can be electric in the return game but needs to show more offensive ability. Pringle is eerily similar to that of Patterson as he doesn’t show the ability to make the tough catch, looking it into the body a lot, but when you do get the ball in his hands he has the moves to break it every time. Watch for Pringle to show he can run more than in a straight line and if he can get some crisp routes down, even good slants his stock may also go on the rise.
Jake Weineke – South Dakota State
Currently Projected 5th-7th
6’4, 205 lbs
Wieneke was an absolute monster for the Jack Rabbits every day he was on campus. Not only in size but Wieneke is someone who everyone will be picking as a sleeper and will likely start shooting up boards pretty quick. Wieneke has the size of the prototype red zone receiver, the strength of an excellent down field blocker, and can make every catch while also high pointing the ball super well, but he does come with some downsides. Firstly and the biggest one comes from the fact that he needs an airline runway to hit top speed. Once he gets going he can fly but he struggled with breaking through the press even in the lower competition of the Missouri Valley Conference. Watch for Wieneke to show better burst off the line and less rounded routes to really start making the impact with the scouts. Fun Fact: Wieneke’s senior year he had 65 catches for 965 yards and 16 touchdowns. This was his statistical worst season in college.
Tight Ends – Tight end is a sneaky big need for us this offseason but I’d really rather us draft a rookie than go sign another low impact veteran. For that reason I’ll explore three of my favorite options, an early, mid and late round prospect.
Dallas Goedert – South Dakota State
Currently Projected Late 1st-2nd round.
6’5, 255 lbs
Dallas Goedert is one of this classes draft darlings. The guy has it all in size, speed and agility. He can make every single catch on the field from one handers to acrobatic corners. Goedert is the real deal and turned in a phenomenal senior year with 92 catches, 1293 yards and 11 touchdowns, this guy is the real deal and has every sign pointing to being a future star. Only knocks currently being talked about is his questionable run blocking effort and perhaps a little less strength than what we’d like to see. Both of these I really ind to be easily fixable in the NFL as effort will get you out of the league a lot faster than it will when you’re the star player at a small school. The biggest issue I have with him will be do the Vikings find him worth it? With our needs I just don’t see us going tight end in what will most likely have to be at pick 30 if we are to get Goedert, not saying I won’t be excited if we do.
Troy Fumagalli – Wisconsin
Currently Projected 4th-6th
6’6, 250 lbs
Fumagalli is someone who I can definitely see being a role player in the NFL for a long time and in the 4th to 6th round of the draft that’s not a bad thing to be. Gifted with amazing catching radius, Fumagalli made a name for himself in college for making just incredible catches even with one of his hands missing an index finger (something you’ll hear about a million times, did you know Jimmy Graham played basketball?). While he is an extremely hard worker and a gifted receiver his slighter build is raising questions. He proved in college he’s a great inline down blocker but really struggle with the one on one matches with defensive ends and linebackers. Top this with the fact he’s not an incredible athlete he had to rely on his ability to make the impossible catch other than simply getting open. Watch for him to improve his route running and put on some muscle to see improvement.
Jordan Thomas – Mississippi State
Currently Projected 7th to Undrafted
6’7, 280 lbs
No, you did not read that size wrong, Jordan Thomas is an absolute beast of a man. Gifted with ridiculous athleticism, Thomas mauled linebackers out of the way and made for some crazy mismatches across the middle. Problem is this where all the hype ends. Thomas is average at BEST in every aspect of being a receiver. From his hands to his route running, Thomas is absolutely… mediocre. Thomas will most likely be nothing more than a project player but when it’s the 6th and 7th round, athleticism always gets a look.
Find me on Twitter @MikeDorry1 and let me know your thoughts on the pass catchers