Remember 1998 Vikings? No not the ’99 NFC Championship, that’s still too painful to even waste one more sentence on, but the ’98 REGULAR season when the Vikings offense exploded for a league record 558 points. The Vikings had about as balanced of an offense as you could find with a dominant offensive line that had three pro bowlers (Jeff Christy, Randall McDaniel, Todd Steussie) protecting a pro bowl quarterback (Randall Cunningham) and making holes for a pro bowl running back (Robert Smith).
What was most memorable though was the aerial assault they put on the NFL. The Vikings had a rookie in Randy Moss who wanted to ‘tear up the league’ and did just that. A hall of famer in Cris Carter, and Jake Reed who could’ve been the top target on many other teams playing third fiddle. It was an embarrassment of riches and extremely fun and exciting to watch. Like watching a long bomb pass to Moss, those days are long gone.
Since Moss’ departure from his first stint in Minnesota, finding a go to target has been tough to come by for the Vikings franchise. Since the 2004 season the Vikings have once had a receiver top the 1,000 yard mark, and that was due to Brett Favre making a star out of Sydney Rice in 2009.
The quarterback spot is a big reason for this, but we’re here to talk about the wide receivers…or lack thereof.
During the past decade, outside of Rice in ’09, the Vikings have never had a receiver crack the top 20 in receiving yards, five times failing to have one crack the top 50.
The position is one we’ll be targeting in the upcoming draft. Todd McShay’s latest mock draft has the Vikings selecting Louisville WR Devante Parker, who has a track record with Teddy Bridgewater and a good one at that. Other names mentioned have been Alabama’s Amari Cooper and West Virginia’s Kevin White. But the Vikings have other needs as well, should they go a different route, what do we have right now? Let’s take a look.
We’ll start with Cordarrelle Patterson, a raw but talented guy who could be used in multiple formations for short, medium, or long pass plays. In year two though, the Patterson only went short, medium, and a long way backwards. Instead of being a swiss army knife with multiple tools, the Patterson became contained if the route was anything but a simple fly, slant, or quick screen.
As disappointing as it was to watch, remember why Patterson fell to the Vikings in the 2013 draft in the first place. He was looked at has a ‘project.’ He’s proven that to be true, but he is a project with undeniable upside and a guy who has proven to have the talent to bust a game wide open. He posted a stat line of 33 catches for 384 yards and 1 receiving touchdown in 2014, but let’s be honest, once he lost his starting spot, he was a broken man and it was all over for him. He’ll take this offseason to improve under the tutelage of Norv Turner and comeback stronger in 2015. His future as not just a Viking but a pro depends on it.
On to the veteran Greg Jennings. Jennings, although the 2013 receiving leader, has been largely unimpressive during his tenure with the Vikings. Age is a large part of it, but once Teddy Bridgewater started to emerge, so did Jennings who became his favorite end zone target. In his first seven games with Teddy at the helm, Jennings caught 1 touchdown pass, he had four in the final six games.
Jennings is not the game breaker, but the rock when it comes to the Vikings receiving core and serves as an on-field coach for the younger guys. There have been rumors that Vikings could let Jennings go, I think that’d be a mistake. They need a savvy vet to help the growth of Patterson, Charles Johnson, and a possible rookie receiver.
For all of Patterson’s shortcomings thus far, Charles Johnson has exceeded any he had and then some. For a sixth round draft choice coming off the practice squad, what he did was amazing. But why is he considered so great while Patterson is being tagged with the ‘bust’ tag by so many. Johnson caught 31 passes for 475 yards and 2 touchdowns, very similar to Patterson’s numbers. The difference is we expected big things from Cordarrelle, we expected nothing of the sort from Johnson. Johnson though has shown more ability in creating separation and better route running.
The position of wide receiver has been a sore spot for the Vikings since Randy Moss’ departure in 2005. But they have hope and plenty of potential. Jennings is the rock, and if Johnson can continue his fast growth while Patterson rebounds from a forgetful 2014, throw in Jarius Wright who disappears at times, but has the ability to find holes in the defense with his speed and quickness, the Vikings may just find themselves with one of the deepest receiving corps in the league. If that’s the case, and the Vikings do select a wide receiver at number eleven, he might just find himself holding a clipboard for much of his rookie season.
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