Minnesota Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah addressed the media about the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft from the TCO Performance Center. The Vikings have long-term draft needs at quarterback, cornerback, and interior offensive line.
At the top of the ticket for Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 offseason needs, pundits and fans will circle defensive tackle and cornerback.
Those two positions are nearly undeniable for team need, so expect to hear about Minnesota’s roster requirement for an impact DT or CB in February, March, and April. The chants will be loud.
And after the Vikings’ 23-13 win Sunday over the Tennessee Titans, the club must move WR3 up the list, too. Unfortunately, its current option, pass-catcher Jalen Nailor, may not be a long-term WR3 fit. His performance to date in 2024 feels more like that of a WR4.
This play would’ve set the Vikings in motion toward a blowout victory — not a survive-and-advance feel that bubbled to the surface at Tennessee.
Of course, Nailor could rebound as early as this weekend and totally change the narrative. That happens, and it might henceforth.
But on the whole, Nailor is on pace for 44 catches and 420 receiving yards this season. Minnesota cut ties with wideout K.J. Osborn eight months ago because his 500-600 yards per season didn’t feel like enough. Instead, the WR3 spot has declined per production, especially when Nailor had a golden opportunity to shine with T.J. Hockenson missing the season’s first seven games.
Nailor has accounted for 4 touchdowns — that were actually pretty fabulous — but 420 yards and 7 touchdowns just aren’t sustainable in a pass-heavy offense like Minnesota’s. Even Jordan Addison’s production slowed from 2023 to 2024. He tabulated 911 receiving yards in 2023 but is on pace for 610 yards this season. With that reduction, Nailor had a prime opportunity to step up and nibble at WR2 numbers.
Contrarily, he’s dipped to high-end WR4 numbers.
So, who can the Vikings find for this assignment? For starters, anyone who can catch an absolutely beautiful touchdown from Darnold in the clip above. The throw was perfect, and Nailor’s blunder was eerily reminiscent of Irv Smith Jr.’s infamous 2022 dropped pass at the Philadelphia Eagles.
Via free agency, WR3 types like this are on deck to be available in March:
Normally, this would be the spot to recommend a mid-to-late round draft pick on a college wideout, but Minnesota has just a handful of draft picks in 2025 — a 1st-Rounder and two 5th-Rounders. The franchise will likely earn a compensatory pick for Kirk Cousins’s free-agent exit. Maybe that pick can be used on a wide receiver.
Nailor has time to finish 2024 strong, but his audition at WR3 has been mediocre.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. The show features guests, analysis, and opinion on all things related to the purple team, with 4-7 episodes per week. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band). He follows the NBA as closely as the NFL.
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.