The Minnesota Vikings possess two of the most talented young receivers in the NFL, Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Jefferson has asserted himself as one of the NFL’s best receivers by gaining over 1,000 yards in each of his first four seasons. This is despite the fact that Jefferson dealt with two separate injuries and played with multiple backup quarterbacks last season. During Jefferosn’s absences last season, Addison emerged as the threat the Vikings hoped he would when they took him with the 23rd pick in the 2023 draft. Addison finished the year with 70 receptions for 911 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Pairing a healthy Jefferson with Addison is a dangerous duo. However, after losing K.J. Osborn this offseason to the New England Patriots, the rest of the Vikings wide receiving core will battle for the third spot during training camp.
Vikings Training Camp Battle: Wide Receiver 3
Brandon Powell
ESPN currently has Powell listed as the Vikings’ third receiver on their preseason depth chart. While that doesn’t necessarily mean that Powell will keep that spot going into the season, it does provide him with a bit of a leg up on his competition. Powell earned his edge in the receiver race by making impressive catches in the playing time he received during Jefferson’s injury last season.
Brandon Powell Monday Night Lights pic.twitter.com/02JXDqmjVg
— Barstool Florida (@UFBarstool) November 28, 2023
Furthermore, Powell caught 65.9% (29/44) of his passes for 324 yards and had one touchdown last season, setting career highs in both catches and yards. That production was enough for the Vikings to offer Powell a one-year contract extension this offseason. The Vikings clearly like Powell, so he will be pretty underwhelming in training camp to lose the wide receiver three spot.
Jalen Nailor
The Vikings drafted Jalen Nailor with the 191st pick in the 6th round of the 2022 NFL draft. Entering the NFL, Nailor’s biggest strength was his speed. During his NFL combine in 2022, Nailor ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash. This electrifying speed is what helped Nailor gain 1.453 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns and become a downfield threat at Michigan State.
Unfortunately, Nailor’s speed has yet to translate into significant success in the NFL. As a rookie, he recorded nine catches for 179 yards and one touchdown in 57 offensive snaps. Despite his limited playing time, his stats were underwhelming, given his speed. Heading into his second season, the Vikings hoped to see improvement from Nailor. However, last season was even less productive for him, with only three catches for 29 yards on 94 snaps. If he wants to earn the third receiving spot from Powell, he will need to show his ability to get open during training camp.
Jalen Nailor was impressive in the second half against the Bears. His four catches showed good ball tracking, the ability to catch outside of his frame, catch while absorbing contact to the back, the ability to find the soft spot in zones, and strong after catch with nice speed. pic.twitter.com/bcImTDwZRJ
— Matt Fries (@FriesFootball) January 10, 2023
Trent Sherfield
Sherfield has been a journeyman since entering the league in 2018 as an undrafted free agent. The Vanderbilt product has had stops in Arizona, San Francisco, Miami, and Buffalo. Sherfield’s most notable stop was with the Dolphins in 2022, where he gathered 30 catches for 417 yards and two touchdowns in 611 snaps.
New #Vikings WR Trent Sherfield is joining his fifth team in as many seasons, but he brings a solid combination of speed and run blocking ability. With KJ Osborn likely gone, MIN’s current WR3 candidates are Brandon Powell, Sherfield, Jalen Nailor.pic.twitter.com/m62CdZkMbC
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) March 14, 2024
While Sherfield showed he had speed with the Dolphins, his success was in large part due to the dominance of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Sherfield’s stats from last season show exactly that. In 2023 with the Bills, Sherfield only had 11 catches for 86 yards on 392 snaps. Although Sherfield did log fewer snaps, he lacked any productivity with the Bills.
However. Sheffield’s upside with the Vikings may be a bit higher if he makes the team since he will have Jefferson and Addison by his side.
Lucky Jackson
Out of all the players on this list, Lucky Jackson has to show out the most to land a roster spot. Jackson played for the University of Western Kentucky from 2016 to 2019. In his four seasons at Western Kentucky, Jackson had 210 receptions for 2,691 yards and 13 touchdowns. Jackson’s best season was his senior year when he had 92 receptions for 1,133 yards and four touchdowns.
Despite his production in college, Jackson did not attract attention from NFL teams and went undrafted in 2020. As a result of being undrafted, Jackson played in the spring league in 2021. Following that, in 2022, Jackson was signed by the Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Elks but only played one game for them. Then, in 2023, he played in the XFL for the DC Defenders. Jackson ended the 2023 XFL season with 36 catches, 573 receiving yards, and five touchdowns. Jackson’s production helped him gain All-XFL team honors.
Lucky Jackson does it again to give D.C. the lead! 44 yards from the #Defenders' top receiver for his sixth touchdown of the season!#SEAvsDC | #XFL2023 pic.twitter.com/9u8qNE8O0P
— UFLCenter (@UFLCenter) April 30, 2023
Jackson signed with the Vikings last offseason and was part of their practice squad in 2023. After spending a season in an NFL system, maybe Jackson can crack the Viking’s roster as their third wide receiver.
Main Photo: [Stephen R. Sylvanie] – USA Today Sports
