PFF Has Roster Recommendation for Vikings

Dustin Baker   |  

May 8, 2024

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If you’re a Minnesota Vikings fan and you don’t trust Brandon Powell, Jalen Nailor, or Trent Sherfield with WR3 responsibilities this autumn, then you’re getting antsy.

PFF Has Roster Recommendation for Vikings

And it just so happens that Pro Football Focus, a football grading outfit, agrees.

PFF offered a recommendation for each NFC team this week, and regarding the Vikings, Gordon McGuinness suggested the free-agent signing of another wide receiver. For context, Minnesota currently showcases this [lengthy] list of wideouts:

That’s a bunch, but after the one-two punch of Jefferson and Addison, the purple team could stand to upgrade on the third rung. McGuinness agreed, “Justin Jefferson saw 98 targets in just 10 games last season, trailing only T.J. Hockenson and Jordan Addison for the Vikings. He will obviously be the top target again, but with K.J. Osborn now a New England Patriot, it is a thin depth chart in the pass-catching department outside the top three.”

Unfortunately, the WR3 options are rapidly dwindling in the NFL’s marketplace. DJ Chark signed on the Los Angeles Chargers’ dotted line, and he’ll contend for anywhere between a WR2 and WR4 gig in Tinseltown on Jim Harbaugh’s team. Los Angeles strangely said sayonara to all its aging playmakers this offseason and used the draft + bargain-bin free agency for replacement. Chark was a bargain-bin guy.

Soon after the Chark move, Chase Claypool became a Buffalo Bill, where he hopes to kickstart his career after underwhelming stops in Chicago and Miami. Claypool produced a marvelous rookie season in 2020 — so much so that Pittsburgh Steelers fans claimed he was on par with Justin Jefferson — but reverted mightily in 2021 and after. He’s scored three touchdowns in three seasons after scoring nine in his first year.

After Chark and Claypool, Odell Beckham Jr. found his fifth new home of the last decade, joining the Miami Dolphins last week and adding another weapon to Mike McDaniel’s glitzy offense. Beckham always seems to know “the spot” for Super Bowl contenders, so keep an eye on the evidently frisky Dolphins.

Then on Tuesday, veteran Tyler Boyd latched onto the Tennessee Titans roster, a man actually at the top of Vikings fans’ wishlists.

So, if general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah agrees with the PFF recommendation, the available WR3 candidates are down to this group and can be signed at any time:

• Randall Cobb
• Russell Gage
• Marquise Goodwin
• Mecole Hardman
• Deonte Harty
• Julio Jones
• Zay Jones
• Hunter Renfrow
• Allen Robinson
• Sterling Shepard
• Michael Thomas
• Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Minnesota has about $17 million in cap space before signing its draft class as of May 8th.

Also Read:
Vikings’ Top Roster Battle … May Not Be QB

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.