Vikings May Have Found a Gem at WR
The Minnesota Vikings need a wide receiver to rise from the woodwork, and Myles Price knows a guy.
The Minnesota Vikings need some help at receiver and a rookie UDFA could end up being the solution.
It’s himself. Price put his thumbprint on the Vikings’ second preseason game Saturday, standing off the page when the club needs it most, at least per roster evaluation.
With any luck, Price will latch onto the bottom of Minnesota’s WR depth chart in eight days when the club reveals the 53-man regular season roster.
Myles Price Could Fix the Vikings’ WR Depth Concerns
He turned heads against the New England Patriots on Saturday.
WR Myles Price Turns Heads
Price currently lives near the bottom of the roster — he did until Saturday, anyway.
An undrafted free-agent rookie from Indiana, Price produced a decent training camp and possesses some of the traits needed to make it in the big leagues, including 4.43 speed. Price pulled this off against the Patriots, bringing his profile to the forefront for purple fans:
Price said about returning punts after the game, “That’s my favorite position in the world … as long as it gets in my hands I feel like I got an opportunity every time.”
He may be a fit for regular season special teams.
The Need for an Unsung WR
Normally, a deeply buried wide receiver on the roster making noise in the Vikings’ preseason could be filed under “nothingburger” status. The preseason provides a forum for little-known players to stand out — and then that’s the last time anyone hears from them.
But this year could be different for Price and the purple team.
Jordan Addison, the WR2, will miss the regular season’s first three games. He’s suspended for a “wet reckless” driving infraction. Rondale Moore was lost for the entire year during the first preseason game. And WR3 Jalen Nailor has a bad hand right now, with an unclear prognosis.
That’s a lot of dings — too many — for a team operating with an inexperienced quarterback. J.J. McCarthy has never taken an NFL snap, and his wide receivers are dropping like flies.
Special Teams, Too
The 5’9″ and 185-pounder could make the regular season roster on the basis of special teams alone. A few things are going on for Minnesota’s return game:
- Brandon Powell returned punts in 2023 and 2024; Minnesota didn’t re-sign him this offseason.
- Tai Felton, a rookie, is listed as the kick returner; he’s raw.
- Rondale Moore was supposed to return punts; he’s gone.
- Lucky Jackson is the current punt returner on the depth chart; he’s suddenly on the roster bubble.
- Silas Bolden, a UDFA like Price, could return punts, too, but he may not make the roster at all.
That drags Price to the top of the discussion, and his nifty 81-yard return on Saturday helped his cause.
The Roster Bubble & August 26th
Now, it’s a waiting game for Price and his supporters.
Minnesota will announce roster cuts on August 26th, pruning the depth chart by 41%. Usually, one nice punt return isn’t enough for a UDFA like Price to make the cut, but Price has been thriving all summer on a team with suspect wide receiver depth.
He’s a quintessential roster bubble candidate as of August 18th, and if he gets the 53-man roster nod, he can thank his special teams background. That’s his inside edge for the 2025 Vikings.
Of course, if the club signed Brandon Powell this week, all these Price theories would hit life support.
More on Price
Our Kyle Joudry mentioned Price before the second preseason game, uplifting him for the masses.
He wrote, “Putting him on the map for a lot of Vikings fans was his touchdown from Max Brosmer. Nothing overly complex about what Myles Price is doing, but some strong football nonetheless. He’s working in tandem with Bolden (#83) and Tre Stewart (#38), the running back who releases on a route.”
“Both of Bolden and Stewart set up shop in the shallow area of the endzone, allowing Price to find some room behind. Coming off the line of scrimmage, Myles Price takes a quick step toward the outside before getting vertical. Doing so gets the corner leaning toward the boundary when Price’s ultimate goal is to find room in the middle of the field. He then breaks inward, working toward the middle as Brosmer finds him in stride.”
The Vikings have promoted UDFA wideouts before to the active roster: Chad Beebe, Trishton Jackson, and of course, Adam Thielen.
Joudry concluded, “Good stuff all around for the third-team offense. Truth be told, Myles Price isn’t going to make the team if his only contributions come on offense. Being able to put in work in this area is a good thing but not what the Vikings truly need. Proving to be the best option to become the PR1 is what’s going to allow Price to earn a living in the NFL (at least initially).”
“Myles Price finished last Saturday’s game with 2 targets. These opportunities turned into 2 catches, 18 yards, and 1 touchdown. He didn’t get a chance to return a punt. Currently, the Vikings are working through joint practices with the Patriots. Keep an eye on #31 if you’re checking in on updates from these days and look for Myles Price on Saturday during the game.”
Keep an eye on the roster bubble in eight days. That’s where Price lives at the moment.
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