The WRs the Vikings Should Target after NFL Roster Cuts
The Minnesota Vikings have a few depth concerns at wide receiver with the regular season less than two weeks away.
The wide receivers the Vikings should target after roster cuts, with several sweet pass catchers hitting the market as Minnesota looks to bolster depth.
Jordan Addison will miss the season’s first three games due to a suspension, and Rondale Moore won’t play at all in 2025 because of a bad knee.
Thankfully, the NFL waived and released over 1,100 players on Tuesday, sweetening the pot for teams that need some depth players.
At wide receiver, these are the top options for the Vikings, listed from bottom to top (No. 1 = top WR target).
Note: This list is exclusive to players who were released amid roster cuts and does not include pre-existing free agents like Odell Beckham Jr.
Best WRs the Vikings Can Grab after Cuts
These WRs are available on the waiver wire or via free agency.
10. Malachi Corley
The New York Jets sent Corley packing on Tuesday, a 3rd-Round selection from the 2024 NFL Draft. He had no luck as a rookie with Aaron Rodgers, targeted just 6 times the entire season. He posted wonderful numbers at Western Kentucky, however.
9. Robert Woods
Woods and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell crossed paths in 2020 and 2021 in Los Angeles. The two won a championship together. Woods could snuggle in nicely as an WR5 in Minnesota behind Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Adam Thielen, and Jalen Nailor.
8. Xavier Restrepo
One of the most popular undrafted free agents of the 2025 cycle, the Tennessee Titans are hoping to sneak Restrepo onto the practice squad. Minnesota can prevent that with a waiver claim. Restrepo tallied 1,127 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games last season at the University of Miami.
7. Laviska Shenault
Jacksonville selected Shenault in Round 2 of the 2020 NFL Draft, and he has never taken off. His career started promisingly in 2020 and 2021, posting 600+ yard seasons, but everything has soured since. Shenault can also return kicks.
6. Marquez Valdes-Scantling
If the Vikings want a deep-ball threat, this is the guy. Valdes-Scantling is 6’4″ and 205 pounds. He typically records 400-650 yards per season. That’d work.
5. K.J. Osborn
Minnesota traded for Adam Thielen on Wednesday. If it wants to totally get the band back together, why not sign Osborn, too, who has struggled during his post-Vikings adventure?
4. Diontae Johnson
Johnson’s career is at a low point. Nobody wants him. In 2021, though, the former Pittsburgh Steeler tabulated 1,161 receiving yards in a single season.
3. Hunter Renfrow
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah could steal both Carolina Panthers WRs with deceptive speed: Thielen and Hunter Renfrow. Carolina has leaned full tilt into the youth movement at WR. Renfrow logged 1,038 receiving yards in 2021. That isn’t terribly long ago.
2. Mecole Hardman
Need a 27-year-old dude with 4.33 speed who returns punts and kicks? Give Hardman a call.
1. Trey Palmer
Palmer is Rondale Moore — but taller by five inches. The Buccaneers have an egregiously deep wide receiver room, and Palmer was the odd man out on Tuesday.
Like Hardman, Palmer has 4.33 speed. The only problem is the waiver wire. Some team may jump in front of Minnesota (at No. 24 on the waiver pecking order) to onboard Palmer.
Bucs Wire‘s Ashlie Abrahams wrote about Palmer on Wednesday: “In a receiver room deep with youthful talent, Palmer totaled just 12 catches for 172 yards and a single touchdown, even as he chipped in as a returner on special teams. Rumors suggested Pittsburgh showed early interest, but no trade materialized before the deadline.”
“Unable to find a trade partner, Tampa Bay opted to waive him. Now on waivers, Palmer’s fate hangs in the balance. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll likely be positioned for a return through Tampa’s practice squad, offering a path back. If another team claims him, he could get a fresh opportunity elsewhere. For the Buccaneers, the decision frees up an essential roster spot. Palmer entered the league with elite speed and potential, but in the crunch of roster cutdowns, the Bucs decided he hadn’t blossomed into the reliable contributor they needed.”
Palmer turned 24 this offseason.
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