Is Rondale Moore Enough for the Vikings?
Remember a couple of years ago when the Minnesota Vikings lost Irv Smith Jr. and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah quickly traded for T.J. Hockenson from Detroit?
Is Rondale Moore Enough for the Vikings?
Sure, that was a great upgrade, but at the time, Kirk Cousins already needed more talent. It was a net-zero addition when it came to offensive weapons.
This offseason, the Vikings have been exploring adding an additional wide receiver. Jalen Nailor took over for K.J. Osborn last season and held down the third wide receiver role all season. He was mostly fine, if not unspectacular, and sometimes truly left something to be desired.
It makes sense for Kevin O’Connell to want more talent for J.J. McCarthy to work with. Rondale Moore recently spurned the Chicago Bears after a visit to come back and sign with Minnesota. He’ll work in the return game and be a legitimate part of the offense. He may not take Nailor’s role immediately, but he brings substantially more experience.
Moore is coming off a season-ending knee injury last year that kept him out all of 2024. However, he is a former second-round pick with significant speed and ideally profiles in the slot. Minnesota can use him on short and intermediate routes and on designed running plays.
The problem for the Vikings offense is that a likely suspension of Jordan Addison is still looming. Eventually, he will face league-imposed discipline for his DUI last summer. When that happens, O’Connell’s offense will be without the second wideout for a matter of a couple of weeks. That means Justin Jefferson can be double, and the combination of Moore and Nailor has to do the heavy lifting.
Is that really what Minnesota wants?
There’s a chance that Hockeson steps into an even greater offensive light as he’ll be further removed from his knee injury. Still, the Vikings offense would be wise to employ another true playmaker at or near Addison’s caliber. It seems unlikely the former first-round pick will be retained past his rookie deal, and having a succession plan makes a good amount of sense.
With the Vikings ready to put a young quarterback under center, they need to provide as many options for him as possible. That starts on the edges, and guys must be able to work in and create space.
Vikings QB Is a Football “Maniac”
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes daily for Minnesota Sports Fan. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.
You must be logged in to post a comment.