NFL Draft season is upon us, and the Minnesota Vikings will be picking 23rd overall the the upcoming draft. After a free agency period that saw the team address most of their defensive needs by virtue of bringing in young and mostly cheap players, the team now needs to fix another hole on the roster- wide receiver.
This position is a bigger need for the team than most think. After two down years from Adam Thielen, the team needs a bonafide No. 2 receiver to go alongside superstar Justin Jefferson. While many think K.J. Osborn is that guy, I believe that he is better suited as a WR3.
Today, we are going to go over some wide receiver prospects the Vikings can draft with their first-round pick.
Prospect No. 1: Jordan Addison, USC
Between his days at both Pitt and USC, Addison is a Fred Biletnikoff Award winner that is also among the most refined receivers in this draft class. Addison is an elite separator who often waits for the defensive coverages to unfold before making his move, and is truly a do-it-all receiver who can go deep, run quick and short routes, or be effective in the screen game. His catch radius is eye-popping and his scouting reports describe him as a “quarterback’s dream.”
However, Addison also struggled with drops during his college career, notably at Pitt. His drop issues did not pop up much at USC, but they were still there. Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 175 pounds, his smaller frame will be a problem against bigger cornerbacks, and may not be able to win a lot of one-on-one battles as a result. His speed is also a small concern, and often doesn’t have a lot of after the catch yards (aka YAC) as a result of this.
Addison would be a wonderful receiver for the Vikings, as he wouldn’t need to be a WR1, but it’s also very likely that he doesn’t fall to 23.
Prospect No. 2: Zay Flowers, Boston College
Similar to Jefferson, Flowers is a versatile receiver who can play both inside and outside. He showcases great ability to track the football as the quarterback makes the throw, and is an amazing contested-catch receiver despite his 5-foot-10 inch frame. Flowers wins a lot of leverage-based battles with opposing cornerbacks, and becomes an explosive after the catch threat once he touches the ball.
However, in addition to his frame, Flowers possesses a poor catch radius and his Boston College career saw him post a drop rate of 11%. This could be a major problem in the NFL as his drop issues may cause him to lose his quarterback’s trust.
Flowers could turn out to be a very good and explosive receiver, but his small frame and lack of catch radius may cause him to be viewed as a slot-only prospect. With a profile similar to K.J. Osborn, the Vikings may be better off not drafting Flowers.
Prospect No. 3: Jalin Hyatt, Tennessee
The 2022 Biletnikoff Award winner, Hyatt experienced a breakout campaign during his final season at Tennessee that has catapulted him into being among the top receiver prospects of this upcoming draft.
A refined athlete, Hyatt possesses great acceleration and can easily get behind opposing defenders. His speed and ability to create leverage against opposing cornerbacks has elevated his ability to run great routes while simultaneously adjusting them along the way. Like Flowers, Hyatt is an explosive after the catch receiver and can easily track the football that is being thrown to him.
However, it’s worth noting that Hyatt played exclusively in a spread offense in Tennessee, and he may struggle to make the transition to NFL offenses during his rookie season. Though possessing great timing, that will be challenged at the NFL level. Also, his six-foot, 176-pound frame will be challenged against bigger, more physical corners. Lastly, Hyatt has only had one truly successful college season, which increases the risk that this past season may just be an outlier.
An ideal WR2, Hyatt could be a good fit for the Vikings. This is a receiver the team should definitely consider looking at, and could reasonably be available at No. 23 overall.
Prospect No. 4: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a true wild card prospect in this year’s NFL draft. Though he set receiving records on the 2021 OSU team that featured a receiving room of first-round picks Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave in addition to budding star Marvin Harrison Jr., he also missed nearly all of this season with nagging injuries.
Smith-Njigba’s outstanding footwork and body control makes him an elite route runner and separator, something that will be a massive strength at the NFL level. Great with route adjustments and creating leverage against opposing defenders, Smith-Njigba is an intelligent player that also possesses an above-average catch radius and is also very deceptive after the catch.
While the basic fundamentals of his game make him one of the draft’s more refined receivers, his lack of true speed makes him more reliant on his techniques, largely due to the fact that he can’t win a lot of foot races. While used in motion at Ohio State, Smith-Njigba was often used exclusively from the slot. He can beat press coverage with his footwork, but wasn’t challenged much in that phase of the receiving game during his college career.
Smith-Njigba could be a very productive NFL receiver, and is someone the Vikings should definitely take a look at, but a year lost to injury leaves a lot of unanswered questions about his development. He will need to go to the right team to work.
Prospect No. 5: Josh Downs, North Carolina
A productive slot receiver, Downs is an extremely skilled route-runner who thrives off of attacking the leverage provided to him by opposing cornerbacks. Possessing elite change of direction skills, Downs often alternates his speed based on his routes and can string together quick and elusive moves to manipulate his opponents at the line of scrimmage. Despite being used mostly in the slot, Downs is effective when it comes to contested catches, having caught 72% of his targets when it comes to those types of catches.
For all of his strengths, Downs is not your prototypical NFL receiver, and may be overlooked by a lot of teams because of this. In addition to a smaller frame, Downs lacks a true catch radius, both of which led to him struggling against more physical cornerbacks. When Downs exhibits these struggles, his route tree is severely limited, which may lead a lot of NFL teams to only use him in the slot.
Downs is a Flowers-type of prospect, as he is used mostly in the slot, possesses great speed and agility, but struggles against more physical defenders. For the same reasons as Flowers, he is not someone I would recommend for the Vikings to draft.
